Former chief justice John Murray remembered for ‘wisdom and kindness’ at funeral

The hallmarks of the life and public service of former chief justice John Murray were “compassion, wisdom and kindness”, his funeral Mass was told.

Former attorney general Paul Gallagher said Mr Justice Murray believed in the rule of law, freedom and rights, and also understood obligations. “He saw the law as not restrictive but about empowering, a means of improving the lives of citizens.”

Mr Justice Murray was a devoted family man who had also given a great period of his life, some 40 years, to public service and the service of others, he said.

“We benefited from his life, from his skills, from his values. All we can give in return is our great gratitude.”

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Brian Murray, son of Mr Justice Murray, said his father, a native of Limerick, was a very proud Limerick man who treasured his connection with that city and was an avid follower of Munster rugby. His father also loved Greystones, Co Wicklow, where he and his wife Gabrielle had lived for 46 years.

Mr Murray said the extended family are very close, that they regularly holidayed together, and his father was a devoted husband and family man. His father and mother had met in UCD in the 1960s and married in 1969. “He loved Mum with every fibre of his being. Dad loved his family, he loved his children, he loved his grandchildren, he loved his wife and he loved and lived his life. He gave us everything and there is nothing more that we could have asked for except for time.”

Mr Justice Murray’s wife Gabrielle, his daughter Caitriona, son Brian, brothers Michael, Hugh and Eugene, grandchildren and extended family members were the chief mourners at the funeral Mass of the late former chief justice at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Greystones.

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were represented by their Aides de Camp, Col Stephen Howard and Cmdt Claire Moriarty. The congregation at the church, which was packed, included Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell, Minister for Justice Simon Harris and Attorney General Rossa Fanning, and former chief justices Ronan Keane, Susan Denham and Frank Clarke.

Many serving and retired judges attended, among them Court of Appeal president Mr Justice George Birmingham, High Court president Mr Justice David Barniville, and Supreme Court judges Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, Mr Justice Peter Charleton, Ms Justice Marie Baker, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, Mr Justice Brian Murray and Mr Justice Maurice Collins. Retired members of the judiciary present included former Supreme Court judges Mary Laffoy, Mary Finlay Geoghegan and Fidelma Macken, also a former judge of the European Court of Justice.

The European Court of Justice was represented by its Advocate General, Mr Justice Anthony Collins.

Several former attorneys general were present, including Mr Gallagher, Senator Michael McDowell SC, Dermot Gleeson SC and Seamus Woulfe, now a Supreme Court judge. The Courts Service was represented by its chief executive Angela Denning, while former Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State, Martin Mansergh, and journalist Vincent Browne were also among the congregation.

Born in Limerick in 1943, Mr Justice Murray, a native of Limerick who died aged 79, served as chief justice from 2004 until 2011 and retired as a judge of the Supreme Court in 2015.

He previously served as a judge of the European Court of Justice from 1992 to 1999. He served twice as attorney general, between August and December 1982 and from 1987 to 1991.

He was twice elected president of the Union of Students in Ireland, in 1966 and 1967.

He was called to the Bar in 1967 and became a senior counsel in 1981. He had a substantial practice in civil and constitutional matters and defended Independent Fianna Fáil TD Neil Blaney, since deceased, in the 1971 Arms Trial. He acted in several cases before the European courts, including for the State in opposing the action by Independent Senator David Norris aimed at decriminalising homosexuality.

During his first term as attorney general, he drafted the wording of what became the 1983 anti-abortion amendment, the Eighth Amendment, to the Constitution. During his second term as attorney general, in 1988, his refusal to extradite a Co Tipperary priest, Fr Paddy Ryan, to the UK to face explosives charges – on grounds that comments in the British media and by then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the House of Commons prejudiced Fr Ryan’s right to a fair trial – caused considerable controversy in the UK.

In 2013, he was appointed chancellor of the University of Limerick and chairman of the university’s governing authority. In early 2016, he was appointed by the minister for justice to carry out a review of the legislation allowing access to the phone records of journalists.