Colm Condon was Attorney General of Ireland

Attorney General of Ireland

The Attorney General is a constitutional officer who is the official adviser to the Government of Ireland in matters of law. He is in effect the chief law officer in Ireland. The Attorney General is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings when invited and attends...

 from 1965 until 1973. He served in office during the beginning of the Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 in the late 1960s.

He was born in Ashbourne, Meath

County Meath

County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

, the third son of Thomas Condon, an accountant, and Irish Republican Army

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 (IRA) activist, who had taken part in the 1916 Easter Risingand who was briefly a senator representing the Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 party as well as having been a member of Meath County Council

Meath County Council

Meath County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Meath in Ireland. The Council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and the environment. The head of the council has the title of...

.His mother was Margaret McGuire, a teacher in Ashbourne. Condon was educated at Terenure College

Terenure College

Terenure College is a Carmelites-run secondary school located in the Terenure area of Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded in 1860 and comprises a primary and secondary school. The school is part of the popular culture "Rugby Belt" or Leinster Schools Rugby playing institutions, having a strong...

 in Dublin and subsequently at University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

. He practised cases including those involving defamation and personal injury.

Condon was called to the Bar in 1944 and became a senior counsel in 1959. He was appointed as attorney general

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

, serving under Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 Sean Lemass

Seán Lemass

Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....

. He remained in office under Lemass's successor, Jack Lynch

Jack Lynch

John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....

. He argued on behalf of the State during the 1970 Arms Trial which involved future Taoiseach Charles Haughey

Charles Haughey

Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...

.

In 1972 he helped draft legislation that set up the Special Criminal Court

Special Criminal Court

The Special Criminal Court is a juryless criminal court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and organized crime cases. Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with wide-ranging powers when "the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure...

.

In 1997 Condon appeared before the Moriarty Tribunal

Moriarty Tribunal

The Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters was an Irish Public inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry. It has revealed significant tax evasion by these and other politicians and leading...

in which he sided with Haughey challenging the powers of the trubunal.

Condon was married twice. He had two sons Colm and Eoin, and two daughters, Stephanie and Carolyn by his first marriage.