COLLEAGUES FROM the judiciary and the legal profession joined the family and friends of Judge Miriam Reynolds at her funeral in Mount Merrion, Dublin, yesterday.
Two pipers led the cortege from her home nearby, where it was met at the Church of St Therese by a guard of honour of boys from St Michael’s College, which is attended by her younger son, Cillian.
The mourners were led by her husband, Frank Buckley, sons Daragh and Cillian, father Gerry and brothers.
Among the members of the judiciary present were the Chief Justice Mr Justice Murray, president of the Law Reform Commission Mrs Justice McGuinness, and president of the Circuit Court Mr Justice Matthew Deery, along with many members of the Circuit Court bench.
Her former colleagues at the Bar were led by Bar Council chairman Michael Collins SC, and its director, Jerry Carroll. There was a strong contingent from the Women Lawyers Association, of which she was a founder member.
Fr Andrew O’Sullivan said she had faced her illness with fortitude, strength and faith. She was above all a loving wife and mother, and she loved her work, remaining dedicated to it even in times of great sickness.
Eoin McGonigal SC told mourners she had been his first and only pupil, working together on the northern circuit, and they remained lifelong friends. She was courteous and honest with clients, careful in everything she did, while standing up to the local judge where necessary. She then became prosecutor for Donegal. “She was strong but fair, highly responsible as a criminal lawyer, liked by judges and her colleagues.”
She was called to the Inner Bar in 1998, a year after her serious cancer diagnosis. “This was where her rebellious streak came to the fore. She fought for her life, aided by Prof John Crown and his team.”
He said this gave her the courage to fight, and gave her 12 years in which to see her children develop and grow. “She adored her two boys and never tired of talking about them.”
The improvement in her health allowed her to take up position as a Circuit Court judge where “she became a star. The midland circuit claimed her as its own.”
Her son Cillian read Auden's poem Stop All the Clocks. Her other son Daragh read from Joyce's short story The Dead. Her husband Frank said he was the luckiest person to have had so many wonderful years with her.