One of Northern Ireland's top judges dies at 70 shortly after retiring
One of Northern Ireland’s most senior judges has died, aged 70.
Sir Bernard McCloskey had been a judge at the Court of Appeal in Belfast – the highest court in Northern Ireland – from 2019.
He retired as a judge earlier this year.
He died today, the Lady Chief Justice’s office has announced.
Sir Bernard was educated at Queen’s University Belfast.
He went on to acquire a certificate in international human rights law at Strasbourg.
He became a barrister in 1979, then a QC in 1999, then a High Court judge in 2008 (High Court judges are automatically knighted).
He had served as president of the UK’s Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, a body which rules on rejected asylum and visa applications, from 2013 to 2017, and was the presiding judge at the Northern Ireland Judicial Review Court from 2017 until 2019.
Among the cases he had dealt with in recent years were the tossing out of incitement to hatred charges against loyalist Dee Stitt, a rejection of murderer Raymond O’Neill’s appeal against his conviction, and a rejection of a man’s attempt to make police liable for not preventing the Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb.
Lady chief justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said Sir Bernard had been a “distinguished jurist who made an important contribution” both as a barrister and judge.
“He also gave his time generously to charitable pursuits and engaged with young lawyers,” she said.
"Sir Bernard was a dedicated public servant, and a valued colleague to many judges and practitioners.
"I would like to express my condolences, and that of the judiciary, to Sir Bernard’s wife, his children and the wider family circle.”