Judiciary pays its respects at funeral

One of the largest gatherings of the judiciary in recent years turned out for the funeral of High Court judge Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan who died in Dublin last Saturday aged 69 after a long illness.

Proceedings at the Four Courts were suspended yesterday morning to allow for the funeral of the judge, who had been a member of the High Court for 10 years.

Mr Justice O'Donovan's youngest son, David, said the turn-out for the funeral was a fitting tribute to his father, who he described as a "a true regular Joe, a smart man with a keen sense of wit" who had a gift for friendships. "My dad would love to have been here today. A big party with him as the centre of attention was just his gig," he said.

Chief mourners at the funeral Mass, at the Church of the Three Patrons, Rathgar, south Dublin, were his widow, Sara, his sons Derry, Donough and David, his brothers Donough (Don), Barry, Fergus and Ciarán, his sister Dairín and his grandchildren.

David O'Donovan said his father had been proud to be a judge and regarded the position as one of the "utmost importance" and had borne his illness in recent years with "dignity and good humour". Fr Andrew Nugent, a family friend, described Mr Justice O'Donovan as a man of "deep spirituality" who "had that rarest of precious qualities - common sense in industrial quantities".

Fr Nugent qualified as a barrister with Mr Justice O'Donovan at UCD before becoming a priest. "Over 50 years, since we met on that very first day in Earlsfort Terrace, I never heard him speak roughly or unkindly to or about any person," he said.

The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, and the President of the High Court, Richard Johnson, were among the mourners.

mong those who attended was the entire Supreme Court of Mrs Justice Susan Denham, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, Ms Justice Fidelma Macken, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman and Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan.

Others attending included retired Chief Justice Ronan Keane and Tom Finlay, the president of the Law Reform Commission, Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness and the Inspector of Prisons Mr Justice Dermot Kinlan.

Twenty-eight High Court judges, the President of the Circuit Court, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, three Circuit Court judges and five District Court judges were also among the 500 or so mourners who paid their respects

President McAleese was represented by her aide-de-camp, Capt Mick Treacy, and the Taoiseach by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Jim Bourke.

Mr Justice O'Donovan was cremated after yesterday's funeral mass at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harold's Cross, Dublin.