The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, has announced that he will be retiring several months earlier than expected in December.
He has stated that he intended to visit his family and grandchildren in New Zealand in December and that his decision to retire would give him the opportunity for a prolonged stay there.
Mr Justice Kearns told the High Court that he had shared his thoughts with friends and colleagues before making his decision. He said 17 years was a long time to be a judge and knowing when to go was extremely important.
He has said that Mr Justice Seamus Noonan would take over the judicial review list in the new legal term next October, and he would continue to hear cases until his retirement.
His decision to retire comes after a ruling last month that the trial of former Irish Anglo banker Sean Fitzpatrick will take place on the first day of the new term sittings in October after his trial was adjourned by the High Court last month.