Death of Mr Justice Bernard Barton
Retired High Court judge Bernard Barton has died after a short illness.
Mr Justice Barton served on the High Court from 2014 to 2021, having become a barrister in 1977 and a senior counsel in 1997.
After his retirement, he was a frequent contributor to public debate on the justice system.
Defamation changes
He was highly critical of the plan to remove jury trials in defamation cases, setting out his arguments in an article on the issue in the Gazette last year.
Speaking at a Law Society conference in 2022, he had described the proposal as “wholly erroneous”.
He is survived by his wife Anne Marie and children Jenny, Robert, Peter, and Emily.
His funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday 11 August in St Joseph’s Church, Glasthule (10am), followed by burial in Glann Cemetery, Oughterard, Galway, arriving at around 5pm.