Born: May 10th, 1964
Died: January 21st, 2025
Marie Quirke, who has died aged 60, was a District Court judge and former solicitor who never lost her enthusiasm for the law after more than a decade on the bench. She trained fellow judges, taught with the Law Society and was president of the Association of District Court Judges.
Born to farming couple Martin and Kitty Quirke in Ayle, near Oola, Co Tipperary, her academic prowess was evident from a young age and schoolfriends recalled how she would help others with school work.
After obtaining her law degree in UCC, she trained as a solicitor and worked in private practice in Ennis, Waterford and Dublin before joining the Legal Aid Board. This work brought her around the country and she honed her expertise in childcare, family law and civil law.
In 1999, Marie Quirke was instrumental in setting up the Refugee Legal Service, a part of the Legal Aid Board, and was its first managing solicitor. She became managing solicitor at Finglas Law Centre in 2002 and was elected to the council of the Law Society in the same year. Ten years later she was appointed a judge of the District Court. Initially she dealt with family, childcare and criminal cases before being appointed the licensing judge for the Dublin metropolitan area. Confident in her own abilities, friends said high office did not change her and she continued to treat everyone the same, no matter who they were.
President of the District Court, Mr Justice Paul Kelly, said she embodied all the best qualities of a judge, “extensive legal knowledge, experience and expertise, patience, fairness, compassion, and a deep understanding of the human condition”.
He said she wore her legal expertise lightly and dealt with everyone who appeared before her with courtesy, common sense and good humour. “She was diligent and conscientious in her approach to her work and was a model of efficiency in dealing with court lists.”
As a mark of her high standing among colleagues, she was elected president of the Association of District Court Judges in 2024. She was passionate about the training and education of judges and was involved with the judicial studies committee of the Judicial Council and frequently delivered training to newly appointed judges at all levels.
In an online condolence, Judge Keenan Johnson said she was a positive force of nature who brightened every room she entered. “She was blessed with an amazing intellect and an insatiable appetite for knowledge,” he said. “She had incredible emotional intelligence, which enabled her to treat litigants with great empathy.”
Her family said she was extremely proud to be appointed a judge and she gave it her all. She was a familiar sight in the car park of the Four Courts where she could be seen chatting and laughing with friends and colleagues. Barristers Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh said she was a judge at the peak of excellence. “She gave of her time, she listened, and was firm, fair and wise. She was nobody’s fool. Marie Quirke truly was a judge of and for the people.”
She also sat in the small claims court and when The Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope attended a hearing he described her court as “a cocktail of kindness, crankiness and show business”.
Judge Quirke was an encouraging presence in court for young barristers and gave them the space to develop as advocates. Law Society president Eamon Harrington said she was always keen to share her legal expertise, knowledge and guidance with others, and was a popular tutor at the society’s law school for many years. She was also part of the support group for the Afghanistan’s women judges who were forced to flee from their country when the Taliban took over.
She had been a District Court judge for almost 13 years at the time of her death and Legal Aid Board chief executive Joan Crawford said her empathy and consideration to those who she represented or appeared before her in court had never diminished. Other colleagues remembered the glint of mischief in her eyes, and the deep belly laugh that seemed to erupt from nowhere and fill the room.
[ District Judge Marie Quirke ‘gave justice a kind face’, funeral service toldOpens in new window ]
While time was not always within her control, colleagues recalled how she was adept at scheduling and managing her work to maximise time with her husband Alan Fairbairn and their two children. Her family said she loved life and was always open to new experiences, even trying axe-throwing at Christmas. She loved to walk with family and friends, usually with her beloved dog Macy in tow. A keen traveller, she marked her 60th birthday last year with multiple trips around Europe and Morocco.
When news broke of her death, tributes flooded in from judges all over the country, according to Ms Justice Tara Burns, president of the Association of Judges of Ireland. “It went on for over two days. Her funeral was attended by large numbers of judges from all jurisdictions, which shows how well respected she was.”
Marie Quirke is survived by her husband Alan, daughter Dearbhla, son Tiernan, her brothers Dick and Tony, and extended family.
