JOHN GARAVAN:JUDGE JOHN Garavan, who has died aged 77, had boundless curiosity. This, according to his eldest son Mark, who spoke at his funeral Mass, led to him becoming a solicitor. He wanted to know other people's business, not in an interfering way, but out of genuine interest in others.
Although he lived in Castlebar, Co Mayo, Judge Garavan’s judicial “beat” was mostly in Co Galway. He served in the Special Criminal Court and also in courts in Galway, Tuam, Headford and the Aran Islands until retiring in 2003.
His style, a Connacht Tribunereporter wrote, was as lively and unintimidating as that of a district court judge could possibly be. He cracked jokes, the reporter noted, and engaged in banter. Oscar Wilde and James Joyce were quoted. This propensity for remarks caused controversy on at least one occasion. At Galway District Court he said respectable young men had told him they could meet only "dreadful" women at Galway nightclubs.
The ensuing brouhaha left Judge Garavan unfazed. He laughed off the controversy as easily as he did the remarks of a female defendant who one day shouted at him “you f***ing bastard”. He laughed heartily before sending her back to her seat.
Judge Garavan was a grandnephew of James Daly, co-founder of the Land League and a former editor of Castlebar-based newspaper the Connaught Telegraph.He was proud of his Land League links and of his son Mark's involvement as spokesman for the Rossport Five – the men jailed for contempt of court due to their opposition to the Corrib Gas field development. Mark, he felt, embodied James Daly's legacy.
Wherever John Garavan went he made friends. That, in the estimation of his family, was what made him such a good judge – his utter attention to people’s lives and circumstances.
When he stepped down from the bench in 2003, he fitted perfectly into retirement, rooted as he was in Castlebar and Mayo. He would amble his native town, easy company for anyone he met.
After studying at Blackrock College, John Garavan attended University College Dublin, where he qualified as a solicitor in 1956. He established a legal practice in Castlebar the following year.
He was a former president of the Irish Lawn Tennis Association, and served as president and captain of Castlebar Golf Club. He was active in St Vincent de Paul.
Before he died after a lengthy illness, he left instructions for his funeral, wishing it to be a celebration of a life well lived, one of joy, devilment, storytelling, eating and drinking. The large numbers who responded after his death ensured his wishes were complied with.
He is survived by his wife Ann, sons Mark, Eoin and Hugh, daughter Jeananne, and family and friends. He was predeceased by a daughter, Ruth, who died some 40 years ago.
John Garavan: born September 30th, 1933; died April 30th, 2011