Death of Tipperary-based judge Elizabeth MacGrath ‘a huge loss’ to District Court

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath, who sat on the District Court in Co Tipperary, has died at the age of 65 following a short illness.

The former solicitor died overnight on Thursday, according to a message to judges from District Court president Judge Paul Kelly.

Judge MacGrath had been a judge of the District Court since 2007. She had been assigned to District Number 8, which covers her home county of Tipperary, since 2012, where she heard mostly criminal matters but also presided over family law cases.

She worked as a solicitor for 24 years before her appointment to the bench.

The judge served as president of the Association of District Court Judges and as the elected representative of the District Court to the board of the Judicial Council. She had a reputation as a straightforward and reasonable criminal judge and was not afraid to speak out publicly on legal matters and in defence of her profession.

In 2016, she appeared on RTÉ radio to criticise “perceived technicalities” in the law which allowed drink-driving suspects to avoid punishment. At that time she also criticised an Irish Times editorial calling for the establishment of a judicial council, which said some judges “regard themselves as Catholic bishops once did – as independent powers within their court areas”. She said the commentary was “unfair” and “concerning”.

Judge Kelly told his colleagues that Judge MacGrath’s passing is a huge loss to the District Court and the association that would be “deeply felt” by many.

Judge MacGrath is survived by her husband Charles Stanley-Smith, an environmentalist and former chair of An Taisce.