Born: December 1st, 1958
Died: July 3rd, 2024
District Court judge and former Tipperary-based solicitor Elizabeth (Liz) MacGrath has died aged 65 after a short illness. Widely respected and appreciated for her dedication to her profession and her compassion for “the common man”, MacGrath was president of the District Judges Association and the elected District Court representative on the board of the Judicial Council. An independent body, the Judicial Council was set up in December 2019 to promote high standards of conduct among judges.
MacGrath began practising as a solicitor in the mid 1980s in the firm established by her grandfather and county solicitor for Tipperary, Patrick MacGrath. Her father, Michael MacGrath – who was also a District Court Judge –, and her uncle John MacGrath (who worked as a solicitor in the Department of Post and Telegraphs and later in Telecom Eireann) had practised at the firm before her. Her brother Michael MacGrath is a judge in the Court of Appeal.
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In 1989, she set up her own solicitor practice, MacGrath and Co, in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, where her legal expertise and passionate belief in justice for all was held in high regard. Her caseload included criminal and civil litigation, family law, probate and conveyancing. She also represented the local authority in planning, environmental and regulatory matters.
Nenagh solicitor Mariea Flanagan, who runs the only other sole female practice in the Tipperary town, describes MacGrath as a trailblazer. “She set up her practice at a time when it was exceptional to have a sole female practice. She didn’t look for the limelight and did things in an understated way but she wasn’t afraid to question the legal system and challenge what she saw as inefficiencies and matters that needed reform.”
In his eulogy at her funeral, her husband, Charles Stanley-Smith, environmentalist and former chair of An Taisce, said that MacGrath was extremely hard working and incisively intelligent. “Many a big Dublin law firm was amazed that a small one-woman outfit in a rural town had just run legal rings around them. She had a deep understanding of how ordinary people lived or were often forced to live,” he said.
In what was her most high-profile case, MacGrath intervened on behalf of a witness in the Jerry McCabe murder trial in the Special Criminal Court (SCC). Her client had been imprisoned for contempt of court for failing to give evidence. It is rare for a solicitor to make a plea on behalf of a client and without counsel in the SCC. Her client was released from prison following her plea. A senior judge, then one of the counsel involved in the case, recently described her intervention as one of the most powerful and impassioned pieces he had ever heard.
MacGrath was appointed as judge of the District Court in 2007, and in 2012 she was assigned to District Court 8, which covers her home county of Tipperary.
MacGrath had a reputation as a straightforward and reasonable criminal judge and was not afraid to speak publicly on legal matters and in defence of her profession. In 2016, she spoke out about the limitations of the judicial system to enforce drink-driving legislation and to prosecute drunken drivers. “Drunken drivers getting off on perceived technicalities will be a perennial source of debate and frustration in Irish society,” she said.
At that time, she also criticised an editorial in The Irish Times that called for the establishment of a judicial council. That editorial said: “Many judges have come to regard themselves as Catholic bishops once did – as independent powers within their court areas”. Justice MacGrath said that commentary was “unfair” and “concerning” and that it displayed a lack of understanding of the judicial function.
Throughout her time on the bench, she was a fierce defender of the judiciary. District Court judge Marie Keane, secretary of the District Court Judges Association, said: “she was very passionate about the welfare of judges and the maintenance of the separation of powers of the judiciary from the political system and the Civil Service.” She also wrote so-called bench books for judges on her experiences of case law and legislation – particularly in relation to drink driving.
MacGrath was one of seven children of Justice Michael MacGrath and Therese (Deignan), who was a music teacher and church organist. With her twin sister Anne, she attended St Mary’s Girls Secondary Schools in Nenagh, where she developed a keen interest in debating and basketball.
Her siblings say that her attention to detail and directness at expressing a heartfelt view were fostered through debates around the kitchen table with her family, neighbours and friends. Other prominent family members included John F Buckley, Judge of the Circuit Court and Fr Alec Reid, a Belfast-based Redemptorist priest who was involved in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Following her Leaving Certificate in 1976, she studied Law at University College Dublin. She qualified as a solicitor in 1983 and moved to work in the family firm in Nenagh. She met her husband-to-be when he attended a meeting she chaired to form a local branch of the then nascent Progressive Democrats – which MacGrath saw as an antidote to the Fianna Fáil leadership style of Charles Haughey. The couple were married in St Mary’s Church in Nenagh in 1988 and moved to live in the Tipperary village of Dromineer.
Although from very different backgrounds – an Eton-educated Englishman and a rural Irish Catholic professional woman – they shared a wish to right inequalities and supported each other wholeheartedly in each other’s endeavours. “In recent days, I have been thanked by many people for whom Elizabeth’s critical intervention was truly life-changing,” said Stanley-Smith.
A defendant who came before Nenagh District Court recently had their charge struck out “in memory of Judge Elizabeth MacGrath”, who was “an advocate for giving people a second chance”.
Throughout her career, MacGrath served on many local committees including the Board of Management of St Mary’s Girls Primary School and the Nenagh Parish Council. She was a warm, funny and thoughtful presence in her community and enjoyed the company of her wider family. Two years ago, Stanley-Smith and MacGrath welcomed a Ukrainian family to live with them in their home.
She was also sociable in her community. Her siblings recall how she was also known for her many unscheduled visits to neighbours and friends who might have been in need of company, counsel or simply the hand of friendship “all on the pretence that ‘I was just passing by’”.
Elizabeth (Liz) MacGrath is survived by her widower, Charles Stanley-Smith, her siblings, Miriam, Pat, Anne, Michael, Joe and Sharon, and wider family. She was predeceased by her parents, Michael and Therese.