John Loyola Murray (27 June 1943 – 18 January 2023) was an Irish judge who served as

Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...

from 2004 to 2011, a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1999 to 2015, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1992 to 1999 and as

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

from August 1982 to December 1982 and 1987 to 1991.

Early career

Murray was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

on 27 June 1943. He was educated at

Crescent College Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, formerly known as the College of the Sacred Heart, is a secondary school located on of parkland at Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland. The college is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland. The 2016 ''Su ...

, Limerick,

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools S ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, and the

Honorable Society of King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. He was twice elected President of the

Union of Students in Ireland The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) ( ga, Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn) is the national representative body for Tertiary education, third-level students' unions in Ireland. Founded in 1959, USI represents more than 374,000 students in over ...

in 1966/67. He qualified as a barrister in 1967 and had a successful law practice dealing with commercial, civil, and constitutional law.

Attorney General

Murray was

under the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

government from 17 August to 14 December 1982. The

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

, appointed him as Attorney General after his predecessor,

Patrick Connolly Patrick James Connolly (25 May 1927 – 7 January 2016) was an Irish barrister who served as Attorney General of Ireland from March 1982 to August 1982. Early life and career Connolly was born on 25 May 1927, the elder of the two sons of a h ...

, resigned abruptly over the

GUBU The phrase grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented was paraphrased from a comment by then Taoiseach Charles Haughey, while describing a strange series of incidents in the summer of 1982 that led to a double-murderer, Malcolm MacArthu ...

scandal, when a murderer Malcolm McArthur was arrested in Connolly's

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

flat. His next term in office as Attorney General extended from 11 March 1987 to 25 September 1991. In 1988, he refused to allow the extradition of Fr. Patrick Ryan to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

on explosives charges dealing with the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

, on the basis that the trial he would be given would not be fair due to excessive media coverage and remarks made in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

by the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

which were considered prejudicial.

Judicial career

In 1991, he was appointed a Judge of the European Court of Justice serving until 1999, when he was appointed to the

Irish Supreme Court , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

. Murray served on the Supreme Court from 1999. He was appointed

in 2004. In 2011, Chief Justice Murray became involved in controversy with the Government over a proposal to amend the Constitution to allow the remuneration of judges to be reduced in parallel to the remuneration of public servants in State employment. The criticisms of the Government's plans were contained in a 12-page critique by Chief Justice Murray, and the President of the High Court, Nicholas Kearns, and published in the Court Services website, but subsequently redacted at the request of the Government. He retired as Chief Justice in 2011, though he remained a member of the Supreme Court until 2015.

Chancellor of the University of Limerick

Murray was appointed Chancellor of the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

(and so also Chairman of UL's Governing Authority) in 2013.

Telephone tapping inquiry

In January 2016, it was announced that the Minister for Justice and Equality had appointed Murray to conduct a review of the legislation allowing access to the phone records of journalists. Murray was asked to propose any legislative changes required, and to examine the legislation in other countries and examine best international practice in this area.

Personal life and death

Murray was married to Gabrielle Walsh, daughter of Brian Walsh, a former Supreme Court judge, described as "one of Ireland's greatest judges" and the "outstanding legal reforming mind of his generation" by Prof. John J. Lee. His brother, Michael D. Murray, is State Solicitor for Limerick City. Murray died on 18 January 2023, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John L. 1943 births 2023 deaths Lawyers from County Limerick People educated at Crescent College People educated at Rockwell College Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns Attorneys General of Ireland European Court of Justice judges Irish judges of international courts and tribunals Chief justices of Ireland Chancellors of the University of Limerick Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg