MR JUSTICE Barrington was sworn in as the fifth member of the Supreme Court yesterday by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Hamilton.
Also present on the bench at the brief ceremony were three other Supreme Court judges, Mr Justice O'Flaherty, Mr Justice Blayney and Mrs Justice Denham, and the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Costello.
Mr Justice Barrington replaces Mr Justice Egan, who retired from the Supreme Court last November. He will hear his first case tomorrow.
Mr Justice Barrington was Ireland's first member of the European Court of First Instance. The Courts and Court Officers' Act, which was signed into law before Christmas, was amended to provide that service of a judge in the European Court of Justice or the Court of First Instance would be deemed to be practice at the Bar for the purposes of qualifying for appointment as a judge of the Supreme or High Courts.
Mr Justice Barrington left for Luxembourg in 1989 and had been a High Court judge for the previous 10 years.
Mr John Cooke SC has been appointed to the EU Court of First Instance to replace him.