Tributes ahead of Justice Carney retirement

The senior judge of the Central Criminal Court was praised in tributes from lawyers in Cork on the occasion of his last visit as a judge – and his own seven-word reply made his feelings clear about his forthcoming retirement from the bench: “There is nothing voluntary about my going.”

Mr Justice Paul Carney was in Cork for the sessions of the Central Criminal Court for his last time as the presiding judge. At the age of 71, he is due to retire in April. Depending on when judges were appointed to the High Court, they must retire at the age of 70 or 72.

Donal McCarthy, barrister and father of the Cork Bar and Munster Bar, led tributes to Mr Justice Carney, saying that the bar congratulated him for bringing the Central Criminal Court to the people, not least in the sessions of the court in Cork in recent years. Mr McCarthy wished Mr Justice Carney a happy and occupied retirement.