Attorney General leads tributes to retiring judge

Tributes have been paid to Mr Justice Carroll Moran on the occasion of his final sitting in the High Court.

Mr Justice Moran (70) spent the greater part of his career on the bench as a Circuit Court judge before being promoted to the High Court last year. Born and educated in Dublin, he qualified as a solicitor in 1970 before becoming a barrister five years later.

As a Circuit Court judge, he presided on the Cork, Western and Midlands circuits before being permanently assigned in 2004 to the South Western circuit.

The tributes on his retirement on Friday came from the Bar Council, the Law Society and the Courts Service and were led by Attorney General Máire Whelan.

Mr Justice Moran said he was gratified by the kind remarks. Addressing those in attendance, including a number of fellow judges, he said, contrary to the image often portrayed about judges being in “ivory towers”, he believed there was “no one more aware” than judges as to what was happening at every level of Irish society.