Tributes paid to deceased barrister Liam Crowley

Tributes were paid at Cork Circuit Court yesterday to barrister Liam Crowley who died unexpectedly last Thursday.

Circuit Court judges Harvey Kenny, Seán Ó Donnabháin, and David Riordan were joined by Ms Justice Marie Baker of the High Court for the tributes.

Judge Ó Donnabháin expressed his condolences to the family of Mr Crowley. “There was something almost Liam-ish about the manner in which he left us in a quiet, unobtrusive way, he just went from us,” he said.

Donal McCarthy, father of the Cork Bar, said the shock was greater for barristers when a colleague died as they worked side by side every day in court. Mr McCarthy said he had lost a friend, a brother, and a son.

Barrister James Duggan said Mr Crowley had devilled with him for a year as a barrister and they had been friends for the past 40 years. Mr Duggan said the late Mr Crowley had been devoted to his mother, who died four years ago, and that, in a sense, he died too with that loss. In terms of his work as a legal practitioner, Mr Crowley often succeeded in very challenging and difficult cases, said Mr Duggan.

Colleague and solicitor Patrick McNally said: “He was an outstanding negotiator. He was a man of action but time was never of the essence, and he had a great sense of humour.”

Solicitor Michael Joyce, on behalf of the Southern Law Association, said he was an honest, sincere, and very charitable person and that in this week of Cheltenham he would have expected a call from him about upcoming races.

Solicitor Simon Murphy said on behalf of the Law Society that solicitors would miss a great colleague. Richard O’Connor, registrar, expressed condolences on behalf of court staff to family of the late Mr Crowley who were present in Cork Circuit Court yesterday.