Life as a judge’s tipstaff: ‘If you want to see real life, come into a courtroom’

The close-quarters relationship between judges and their tipstaffs only works when personalities are compatible and there is trust and discretion.

This is the opinion of Martin McCarthy, who has just retired after 30 years in that role.

The role of tipstaff – a personal aide to a judge and an usher in a courtroom – can be varied. The public might know them best from their black gowns, leading judges from their chambers to the courtroom, and as the court criers who herald the passage of the judge into and out of court with the stiffening shout of “all rise.”

While McCarthy says he enjoyed being tipstaff to four superior court judges, some of his colleagues were not so lucky.

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He recounts a case where the relationship between a judge and his tipstaff was disintegrating for reasons including a clash of personalities.

One evening, while driving the judge home, the tipstaff decided he had “had enough” and stopped the judge’s car at a Bus Éireann bus stop in a lay-by “miles and miles” from the judge’s country home.

“The judge asked: ‘What do you think you’re doing; we’re going home? ‘No, I’m getting the bus’, the tipstaff said, ‘I’ve had it, I’m done, I’m finished’. The judge said: ‘You can’t finish here, go back to the house and then you can finish.’ But the tipstaff repeated: ‘No, I’m getting the bus, you drive yourself home, here’s the keys.”

“The judge said: ‘I appeal to you not to do this’ but the reply was: ‘Appeal denied’,” says McCarthy.

“He got the bus.”

McCarthy, who was trade union representative for tipstaffs over many years, liaising with human resources, judges and tipstaffs when things went wrong, smiles.

“There’s lots of other stories I can tell but, as regards my memoirs, they will never be published for fear of assassination,” he jokes.

Now approaching his 70th birthday, McCarthy was among fewer than 10 tipstaffs left in the Four Courts before he retired this month. Back in 2009, there were 91 tipstaffs.

Tipstaffs, court officers or law clerks, date back to 14th-century England but the duties vary in different countries. A tipstaff is also the name of a staff carried to tap the ground to alert court users that a judge is approaching and to clear the path for them. Many lawyers would bow as the judge passed by.

Until 2011, judges were entitled to a tipstaff, who effectively operated as their personal aide in the courts and as drivers. Most chose their tipstaff from the ranks of retired gardaí or military personnel.

No new tipstaff was recruited from 2011 following reforms introduced by then minister for justice, Alan Shatter. Judges appointed since 2012 are not entitled to a tipstaff and tipstaffs have been gradually replaced by judicial assistants, most of whom take on the role before pursuing a legal career and operate under three-year contracts.

[ Alan Shatter: ‘I was effectively cancelled, completely’ ]

Stressing he is not being critical of judicial assistants, McCarthy believes the new situation deprives judges of invaluable experience and institutional knowledge gained by tipstaffs over years of service.

In 1993, McCarthy was aged 40 with a family and operating his own chauffeur business when Dermot Kinlen SC, a regular user of his driving services, contacted him saying he had just been appointed a High Court judge and asking him to be his tipstaff.

“I said I don’t know what a tipstaff is and was at pains to explain I knew nothing about the courts or the law.”

The newly appointed judge told him not to worry, he would train him in the role, which essentially involved being his assistant in the High Court.

The two men got on well and McCarthy remained with Mr Justice Kinlen after the latter left the Four Courts in 2002 to take up the role as the State’s first Inspector of Prisons.

[ Inspector of Prisons Kinlen dies in Kerry (2007) ]

“He was a fantastic character at a personal level; he told me early on it’s extremely important the personalities of judge and tipstaff are compatible,” he says.

“He gave me great training but I would say it took three years before I felt efficient in the role. I had a lot of responsibility for his personal stuff as well; you definitely become part of the family.”

McCarthy carried the wooden tipstaff before his judge for a time but says it was mostly unnecessary and Mr Justice Kinlen “was not a great man for it”.

“When you tapped it, you were alerting practitioners mainly; the public would not know anything about it, practitioners would move out of the way as a matter of courtesy and respect to the office.”

For ceremonial occasions, the Courts Service still occasionally uses more elaborate staff of different designs retained from earlier decades.

“They are a lot heavier than the one I had; you could do a lot of damage with them,” says McCarthy.

After Mr Justice Kinlen died in office in 2007, McCarthy returned to the Four Courts and served four years as tipstaff to a Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan.

He then served with Mr Justice Kevin Cross, who managed the High Court’s personal injuries list until his retirement in 2021. Mr McCarthy was particularly impressed by some litigants, including Vicky Phelan, Ruth Morrissey and Emma Mhic Mhathúna, all of whom have since died, having separately sued over the misreading of their cervical smears.

“What a tragic situation that was for all the women. If you want to see real life, come into a courtroom,” he says.

His final judge was the High Court’s Mr Justice Michael Hanna, who retired this month.

As the union representative for tipstaffs, McCarthy says things sometimes went wrong for reasons including personality clashes between judge and tipstaff, the routine not suiting ushers with families, too much driving or hanging around, or a perception of a judge as too demanding.

Tipstaffs “need a certain amount of diplomatic skills”, he says.

“You can’t be bursting into an office if there are meetings under way. That is not a matter of knowing your place; it’s about knowing how to make the system work.”

His approach was to “avoid fuss” and try to solve problems diplomatically, which could mean moving the usher to another judge.

“It mostly worked out, I live off the philosophy that 85 per cent is good enough,” he says.

After the collapse of the Celtic Tiger economy, McCarthy noted a change of attitude towards the judiciary from some members of the public. He attributes much of that to the influence of social media.

Judges have found themselves in difficult and even dangerous situations, he says. Apart from being subject to abusive verbal attacks, he recalls one incident where a District Court judge was assaulted on the bench and another where copies of lengthy judgments were flung at some Supreme Court judges by some Limerick gang members furious over losing an appeal. In another incident in the Four Courts, a glass decanter bottle was thrown against a wall by an unhappy litigant.

He has retired as tipstaff “with the same impression I formed after three years in the role, which is that I have great faith in the judiciary”, says McCarthy.

“It is the third arm of the state and to me it is the most important arm because for the little people like me, the citizens of this country, judges are the lifeline. I was impressed and I still am impressed. In the last 30 years, I have never worked a day in my life because I loved coming in.”

Ian Barclay knew little about judges or courts, “except what I read in the papers” when he took up the role of tipstaff to a High Court judge, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan, in 2006.

Then aged 51, Barclay served with that judge for 12 years.

“We had some great times, some bad times, some sad times. We ended up like an old married couple, we had the odd disagreement, but every day was a day to start afresh. I’m glad to say we’re still in touch,” he says.

“I drove him to and from work, prepared the court papers, kept his diary in order, liaised with counsel as regards cases and, when necessary, the court garda. The main thing was to keep the court safe, running on time and smoothly and we were mostly successful in that, apart from the odd hiccup.”

It was a big change to move from his previous job as a postman, “where I talked to everyone, including the dogs” to a role involving sitting quietly in a courtroom.

Barclay has never carried the wooden staff: “I just missed that thankfully.”

He has witnessed a lot of misery in the courts over the years, including when Mr Justice Gilligan was hearing cases over some 30 months in a special court in Clonskeagh concerning houses damaged by pyrite.

“We visited homes and venues in north Co Dublin and it was very upsetting to see people’s homes destroyed, they were devastated,” he says.

Part of his role involves alerting judges, gardaí and court staff to possible disruption of court hearings and he has witnessed some bad behaviour and angry scenes in courtrooms.

“I have been spat at and kicked, pushed and shoved, during the years after the Celtic Tiger collapsed especially, that was the most volatile time. That’s usually by supporters or backers of some litigants. It’s very unpleasant but I think judges are well able to handle the situation,” he says.

“My view is, make your point, let the judge or jury decide and accept or appeal. I have no difficulties with the legal profession, they’re courteous to me and all the staff, I’m courteous to them. I’m sure it’s hard to listen to some of the abuse they take from people in court.”

He believes people should think hard before going to court.

“It’s stressful. I have seen people fighting over a house worth €300,000 but, at the end of the day, when the three- or four-day case is over, they will owe money to the legal people,” he says.

“I have seen several judges urge people to take half an hour break and try and sort things between themselves but I have seen too many decide to stick with their battle. It’s sad.”

Since Mr Justice Gilligan retired five years ago, Barclay has served as usher/court support officer to five judges who have presided over court number three in the Four Courts, home to the High Court’s chancery list.

“At times it can get volatile, at times it’s nice, but there is a need for an usher there because anything can come in. I mean anything from anti-vaxxers to health disputes and employment disputes. Every day is different,” he says.

For Barclay, the biggest change he has observed in the Four Courts is in the judiciary.

“They have changed from old-style judges wearing wigs and gowns who were very strict in every aspect of their dealings with the public and their staff to judges who are younger and with greater knowledge of how things have changed in the world,” he says.

“The judges now treat people more as equals. It’s important that people are treated the same, no matter who is in the chair or in the court, they are entitled to respect. In the past, they might not say ‘good morning’ to you in the hallways or car park but now everyone does, there is mutual respect for what people do.”

His role has given him huge respect for judges. “I have never seen people work as hard as judges, I don’t think we understand how much effort goes into the reading before a case, their judgments, all the committees and extracurricular engagements. It’s amazing to watch it.”

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When he started as a tipstaff, there were about 40 High Court judges with a tipstaff/usher but he has seen many colleagues and friends depart.

“Over the past number of years, as they retire, they haven’t been replaced,” he says.

“In my opinion, the ushers are badly missed. I have enjoyed the last 17 years; hopefully there is a bit left in me. I have no regrets; I have loved it.”