Retired High Court judge Bernard Barton has died after a short illness.
Born in Limerick in 1951, Barton grew up in Dublin and was educated at Glenstal Abbey, University College Dublin, the Irish Management Institute and the King’s Inns.
He worked for his father’s luxury car import business before opting in 1977 to pursue a career at the Bar, where he specialised in tort, contract and personal injury cases. He became a senior counsel in 1997.
He was counsel for the Transfusion Positive group at the 1997 public inquiry into the infection of people with Hepatitis C and HIV as a result of contaminated blood products.
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Before his appointment to the High Court in March 2014, Barton was a member of Fine Gael.
During his judicial career, he managed the High Court civil jury list for several years and was the presiding judge in several high-profile defamation cases, including the failed action by businessman Denis O’Brien against The Sunday Business Post.
He was a strong opponent of the proposed abolition of juries in defamation cases as part of defamation law reform, but welcomed the proposed simplification of the defence of fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest, saying that essentially meant introducing the concept of “responsible” journalism into legislation.
Before his retirement in March 2021, Barton was among a number of judges who opposed guidelines, drafted by a committee of the Judicial Council, slashing awards for mainly minor personal injuries.
These came into effect in April 2021 having been approved by a majority of the council. Barton said he considered the guidelines were “too restrictive” of judicial discretion.
He remained active in retirement. Last April, La Touche Training announced Barton had been appointed to its training panel to contribute to the design and delivery of programmes, including witness familiarisation and advocacy skills.
Barton is survived by his wife Anne Marie and their four children.
