Ireland’s most senior criminal law judge to retire

Ireland's most senior criminal law judge Mr Justice Paul Carney will retire from the bench next month following almost a quarter of a century in the High Court.

The Courts Service of Ireland confirmed Mr Justice Carney would conclude his duties after Friday, April 24th. A function to honour his tenure is planned by the King’s Inns later this month.

A graduate of Gonzaga College in Dublin and University College Dublin, the 71-year-old has presided over some of the highest profile criminal cases in recent Irish history.

Called to the bar in 1966 and to the inner bar in 1980, Mr Justice Carney was appointed a judge of High Court in 1991 and is the presiding judge of the Central Criminal Court.

Throughout his career he was a regular contributor to journals and other legal publications and was also appointed Irish national president of the World Jurist Association.

In 2006 he was made adjunct professor at the faculty of law in University College Cork and two years later, to a similar role at the department of law and business in NUI Maynooth.

His parents Prof James Carney and Maura Morrissey were both academics who founded a department of Celtic studies at the University of Uppsala in Sweden.