Judge’s last day in High Court

A High Court judge became emotional yesterday as he thanked his family on the eve of his retirement from the bench.

Mr Justice Barry White sat in the Central Criminal Court for the final time yesterday. By the time the case over which he was presiding had finished, a large number of well-wishers, including his family, had arrived in the courtroom in Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice.

Patrick Gageby SC said he had been given the singular honour by his colleagues at the bar of expressing their sorrow at losing an extremely eminent judge. He said he knew it was not the judge’s desire to have any pomp but that he wished to mark the significant date.

Solicitor Dara Robinson said that he wished to echo Mr Gageby’s comments on behalf of the Law Society, while solicitor Liam Mulholland wished him a happy and healthy retirement on behalf of the DPP’s office.

On behalf of the Courts Service, registrar Mary Feerick thanked Mr Justice White for making her and her colleagues’ jobs enjoyable.

Sergeant Albert Bell wished him well on behalf of An Garda Siochána.

Mr Justice White then said that he had intended to simply slip out the back door of the court building following his last sitting. However, he said that he had had to “go public” with his retirement in July when a barrister had demanded to know why he could not hear his case next term.

“It was a privilege to serve as a judge,” he said.

All present stood to applaud him as he rose from the bench for the final time.