MILITARY JUDGE CEREMONY September 2012 - Defence Forces

functions as Military Judge. The great Thomas Jefferson said that the
four words ‘be just be good’ epitomise the duties of a Judge. In my
humble view, the duties of a Judge go further than that. It is not
enough simply to be just and to be good – a Judge must also do
justice. It takes courage to do justice. The men and women of
Óglaigh na hÉireann in their pursuits both at home and abroad have
always shown courage in the performance of their duties and they
deserve a system of military justice that embraces both the quality of
justice and the quality of courage. The overhaul of our system of
military Justice which has culminated in Colonel Campion’s
appointment has ensured that those men and women will be
properly served and I know that Colonel Campion will follow in the
footsteps of our first Military Judge Colonel Tony McCourt in
endeavouring always to be both good and just in the performance of
his duties and most importantly he will endeavour always to do
justice. In the words of Edmund Burke spoken in 1775, ‘it is not what
a lawyer tells you I may do, but what humanity reason and justice tell me I
ought to do’.
A choirnéal, Guím gach rath ort ins na dualgaisí tábhachta a bheith
ort, go dtuga Dia cabhair agus treoir duit chun iad a chomhlíonadh
mar is cómhair.
Bail ó Dhia ort agus go mara tú do ghradam.
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