Ms Justice Mary Irvine

Attorney General Paul Gallagher SC, Bar Council chairperson Maura McNally SC and Law Society president Michelle Ní Longáin were among those who spoke during the judge’s final sitting in the Four Courts this morning.

Ms Justice Irvine, who is 65, has taken early retirement just two years after her appointment.

She was the first woman to serve as president of the High Court and the first person in the history of the State to hold a fourth judicial office.

“It is society’s shame — but it is nevertheless a measure of your achievement — that you are the first female president of the High Court,” Mr Gallagher said.

He said Ms Justice Irvine’s retirement had a “personal dimension” as they were contemporaries at the Bar, but added: “I can reassure you that I have no intention of following suit. Unlike you, I could not be trusted to be left to my own devices.”

Mr Gallagher finished: “On my own behalf and on behalf of the government, we profoundly and sincerely thank you for your immense contribution to the law, to public service and to society.”

Ms McNally said: “Your career has been glittering. You’ve been a trailblazer, not only for women at the Bar, but for all barristers.

“You leave a legacy, not only from your time as a practitioner at the Bar, for which we are grateful, but also a great legacy from your time on the bench. You have left us with the legacy of great jurisprudence.

“But you have decided to leave us early… On behalf of the bar, it is with a sad heart that we say goodbye to you, but I know that your heart will be full of joy upon your retirement.”

Ms Ní Longáin said: “When I started my term as president of the Law Society in November 2021, I reflected on the progress and impact made by the four women who held this office before me.

“You don’t have any predecessors, but I’m sure that the presidents and the future woman presidents of the High Court will reflect on the path that you have laid out before them.

“For now, these are very short lists, but I am confident that the work being done across the legal profession on equality, diversity and inclusion — which I know, from lots of conversations, you very much believe in and foster — will contribute to a more diverse future reflective of Irish society.”

She added: “Your retirement is before your time, but in that time you have done so very much. On behalf of the Law Society and the solicitors’ profession, and on my own behalf, it has been a real pleasure and an honour to work with you and to spend time with you, and I wish you the very best, very long, health and happy retirement.”

At the close of the ceremony, Ms Justice Irvine said it had been “an extraordinary honour to be president of the High Court at this very special time”, noting that the High Court had “increased in size and has gone, I believe, from strength to strength”.

She added: “I think the High Court today is stronger and more capable than any of its predecessors.”