Barry Stanley John O’Keefe , (20 May 1933 24 April 2014) was an Australian

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

who served as a justice of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

from 1993 to 2004 and the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) from 1994 until 1999. He also served as the Mayor of

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

. An influential member of Australia's Roman Catholic community, O'Keefe was appointed to the Truth, Justice and Healing Council in 2012, where he organized the

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC) is the national episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Australia and is the instrumentality used by the Australian Catholic bishops to act nationally and address issues of national s ...

's response to the findings of the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

. He remained the Chairman of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council until his death in 2014.

Biography

O'Keefe's father was Ray O'Keefe, a former Mayor of Waverley Municipal Council, and a furniture salesperson. Barry O'Keefe was the brother of the late rock singer,

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

, who died in 1978. Their parents sent both brothers to

Waverley College , motto_translation = Virtue alone ennobles , location = 131 Birrell Street , city = Waverley, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent early learn ...

, a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

school. Both Barry and John then earned Commonwealth scholarships to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, where Barry O'Keefe studied law. O'Keefe was admitted to the

New South Wales Bar Association The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Pro ...

in 1958 and appointed to

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1974. In 1977, O'Keefe was elected to the Mosman Municipal Council, a position he held for thirteen years, including three terms as the Mayor of Mosman. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1993, where he headed its

Commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

Division, and was an additional judge of the Court of Appeal, and as a judge of the Common Law Division and the

NSW Court of Criminal Appeal The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for criminal matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian State of New South Wales. Jurisdiction The Court hears appea ...

. In 1989, O'Keefe received the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. He was also inducted as a

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1991 and was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2003. A former president of the Local Government Association of NSW and President of the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

in NSW from 1991 until 2006, O’Keefe was also an energetic member of the

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust ("Harbour Trust") is an Australian Government agency established in 2001 to preserve and rehabilitate a number of defence and other Commonwealth lands in and around Sydney Harbour. The Trust has been focused ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

. Two days before O’Keefe's death,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

created him a Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Order of St Gregory the Great. O'Keefe died on 24 April 2014, at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife, and their five children including television host

Andrew O'Keefe Andrew Patrick O'Keefe AM (born 1 October 1971) is an Australian former television presenter and lawyer. He is best known for being the host of the game shows ''Deal or No Deal'' and ''The Chase Australia''. He was also the co-host of ''Weeke ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OKeefe, Barry 2014 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian King's Counsel Members of the Order of Australia Mayors of Mosman Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian Roman Catholics 1933 births Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great