Judge was ‘a small nail in the democratic system’

JUDGE Michael Pattwell, who sits for the last time today after 21 years on the bench, said he felt “honoured to be part of the system that puts people’s rights to the forefront”.

Some people, Judge Pattwell acknowledged, had nicknamed him “padlock,” but the court, the judge said, was never about punishing people but rather about “vindicating the rights of people who had been wronged.”

In Midleton District Court yesterday, he said: “I believed in the system. If I was a bit harsh and fearsome at times… I demanded respect for the system.

“It’s what keeps people free and happy to live in the democracy we have. I was a very small nail in the democratic system.”

He described himself as a “direct” judge and “did not have the ability or diplomatic attributes to do it any other way”.

Judge Pattwell said if he had ever hurt anybody’s feelings, it was something he would never have wished and offered an open and unreserved apology if that had occurred.

He was “very touched” and “very surprised” at the reaction to his retirement. Health had a part to play in his decision to retire and he wanted to retire while he was well, he said.

Judge Pattwell presided over cases in Fermoy, Mallow and Midleton for the last 13 years. Prior to that, he had been in Tipperary and Waterford for six years and, for the first two years following his appointment, was a temporary permanent in various locations.

Members of the gardaí, legal profession and the courts service paid their tributes yesterday.

Court clerk Una Power said: “Boredom was something nobody had experienced in (his) court,” because of his direct manner.

Solicitor Roger Morley and state solicitor for Cork East, John Brosnan, also paid tribute. “You are going to be a great loss to this court,” said Mr Morley.

Inspector Eoghan Healy said Judge Pattwell dealt with everybody, “fairly without prejudice or favour”.