Ex-Northern Ireland Chief Justice Allegedly Disliked Jews and Catholics
Allegations against former chief justice Robert Lowry raise serious concerns about his biases during his tenure in Northern Ireland’s judiciary
Northern Ireland, Robert Lowry, Judiciary, Catholics, Jews, PJ McGrory, IRA
Belfast: So, there’s this big fuss about Robert Lowry, the former chief justice of Northern Ireland. Some newly released documents say he had a serious dislike for Jews, just like he did for Catholics. That’s pretty shocking, right?
Lowry was in charge from 1971 to 1989 and oversaw a ton of non-jury trials during the Troubles. He even sat as the president of the High Court. It seems like his views were a hot topic back in the day, especially among lawyers in Belfast.
One lawyer, PJ McGrory, thought a guy named Ronnie Appleton was a great choice for a High Court position. Appleton had a big role in convicting a member of the Irish National Liberation Army, which was a huge deal politically.
But then McGrory dropped a bombshell. He mentioned that Lowry was reputed to dislike Jews as much as Catholics, which could hurt Appleton’s chances. That’s a pretty wild claim to make about someone in such a powerful position.
McGrory was really critical of Lowry, saying he picked judges based on political needs. He even suggested that internment without trial might be better than the way courts were being used at the time.
He felt that the courts were being manipulated and that the lack of transcripts was causing major delays in appeals. It was like the system was rigged, and Lowry had a hand in it.
With his role, Lowry could control which judges heard cases, especially those involving alleged terrorists. It’s a pretty serious accusation that he was ensuring certain outcomes to serve his own political agenda.
These documents really shine a light on some troubling aspects of the judicial system back then. It makes you wonder how much bias played a role in the decisions made during such a turbulent time.