This is the first-ever biography of the 'architect in chief and draftsman' of the Irish constitution. In the six-year period that it took to draft the constitution, John Hearne was involved at every stage alongside Eamon de Valera; his attitudes and concerns - especially with the protection of human rights in a period which saw the rise of dictatorships throughout Europe - governed the makeup of the fundamental law. This law still stands today and reverberates through every call for referendum or repeal. John Hearne is the biography of a man who was once Irish Ambassador to Canada and the United States, and who masterminded Irish policy, nationally and internationally, for decades. His essential role in the making of the constitution will result in a greater understanding and re-evaluation of one of its most defining and controversial documents. 2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the Irish Constitution. [Subject: Irish Studies, Biography, Legal History, History, Irish Constitution]