Longest-serving Circuit Court Judge retires

Longest-serving Circuit Court Judge retires


JUDGE Patrick Moran, a native of Mulranny, has retired as a judge of the Circuit Court.
He was the longest-serving Circuit Court judge in the country, having spent almost 25 years on the bench, including more than 20 years hearing civil and criminal cases in Cork. He presided over some major criminal cases that gained national and international media coverage.
Judge Moran had practiced on the Western Circuit as a barrister of some distinction before being appointed a Circuit Court judge in 1988. Two years later he was assigned to Cork Circuit Court.
He hails from a well-known Mulranny family and retains a deep affection for his native place which he often visits.
Father of the Cork Bar, Barrister Don McCarthy led several tributes to Judge Moran on his last day in court, praising him for his hard work, courtesy and sympathy for both victims and defendants.
The President of the Circuit Court, Judge Raymond Groarke paid tribute to Judge Moran for ‘his belief in the good of people’.
Judge Moran thanked them all and said he had always found the members of the Cork Bar and the Southern Law Association to be people of integrity and honesty.
He said he planned to do more serious reading and a little more travelling in his retirement years, ‘and endeavour to learn a little more’.
“Thank you all for your patience, your courtesy, understanding and your respect towards me,” he concluded to wide applause.
Judge Moran also spent a week on the bench in Mayo last May ahead of his retirement where local members of the legal profession also paid tribute to him.