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Updated 4.23pm
IRELAND’S FORMER ATTORNEY general Peter Sutherland has died at the age of 71.
Sutherland was Ireland’s youngest attorney general and had a distinguished legal career and also a highly successful business career.
Sutherland was also a European Commissioner and the director general of GATT, the forerunner of the World Trade Organisation.
More recently he was United Nations Special Representative for International Migration.
Sutherland was chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International and also served on numerous multinational boards including BP, Volvo and Ericsson.
His various Irish, European and International jobs saw him play a role in some significant events of the past few decades, including 1983′s abortion referendum as Attorney General, and opening the door for low-fare airlines like Ryanair and creating the Erasmus university programme while EU Commissioner in the 1980s.
In recent years, he had taken on a very active role in issues around migration and was an advocate of compassion on the issue.
His passing today was greeted with sadness by numerous members of the legal profession with Chairman of the Bar of Ireland Paul McGarry SC saying that he had lost a “great former colleague”.
Tributes also came from Irish political life.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called Sutherland a “statesman in every sense of the word” who played “a very important role in Irish political life throughout the 1980s”.
In recent years he dedicated his skills and extensive experience to serving for the United Nations where he was tireless in highlighting the plight of migrants. Throughout his life, he was a champion for individual and economic freedoms.
President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to Sutherland’s “lifetime of contributions at home and abroad”.
He said: “Tirelessly campaigning for global solutions to human trafficking and forced migration, he became a passionate and influential voice for the rights of the 65 million people who have been forced to flee their homes and homelands.”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin praised Sutherland’s “outstanding and distinguished contribution to public life” while Labour Leader Brendan Howlin called him an “Irish giant on the international stage but a man who never forgot where he came from”.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said Sutherland’s “intellect was extraordinary” and that he “used his talents to be one of Ireland’s most influential people”.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme, former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader John Bruton paid tribute to Sutherland, and said he had a “personal generosity that he carried through to public life”.
Bruton said his work in migration was an “expression of the real Peter Sutherland”.
“He was disappointed at the tendency in some states to ignore the humanity of migrants and refugees,” he said.
Sutherland also had a “consistent passion for greater harmony in the world”, Bruton said.
Former Minister for Education Gemma Hussey called Sutherland a “truly great man” who “shone on the international stage”.
Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that Sutherland’s voice throughout the “recent refugee crisis was raw humanity with an Irish accent”.
Sutherland was born in April 1946, and studied law at UCD. After working as senior counsel he first became Attorney General in 1981.
It is understood that Sutherland may have been ill for some time. He survived by his wife and three children.
With reporting from Sean Murray
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I cycle through this junction on my way home. I didn’t see the crash but arrived very shortly afterwards. A driver had flipped her convertible car and the car was lying on its side. There was smoke pouring from the bonnet and two people pulled back the windscreen and lifted her out. I helped her put her legs up on a green bin to stop her going into shock. In addition to the driver there were five people lying on the ground. All were conscious but injured. One was bleeding. The car had travelled from Fitzwilliam place and bounced off railings on the far side of Adelaide road before ending up on its side on road. I can’t say that speed was the cause; she may have swerved to avoid somebody. The ambulances and fire brigades arrived very promptly on scene within 5 mins and cordoned the area.
@Sean: brandy for you sir!
@Sean: Thanks for that. Citizen powered news.
@Sean: Fair play Sean
@Sean: nice work, Sean. Fair play to you.
@Sean: Well done Sean.
@Sean: fair play to you man
@Sean: Good for you. Practical assistance and a clear, calm headed report of what happened. I hope you’re okay yourself afterwards and you don’t let it play on your mind or anything like that.
@Sean: you should not move or remove the person from a car after a bad crash. Well done for stopping to assist however.
@Alan Byrne: True Alan, but in cases where there is a clear and real risk to life that outweighs leaving them for the ES then you have no choice to move them. From the above report, the guys made the right call, smoke rising from the bonnet is to me a clear risk to life and action needed to be taken at the time. Looking back now it could have been water off the engine block, but you do not have the ability to look back at the time unfortunately.
@Sean: fair play to you Sean.
@Alan Byrne: Leave her in a smoking car then? Well done Sean.
@Sean brilliant stuff
@Sean: Your a champion mate! I wish you good luck for your good dead! Good things happen to good people.
@Sean: Fair play Sean!
@Sean: fair play and thanks for the explanation, saves all the hearsay, especially with everything happening in Barca etc, people jump to conclusions before having the full story
@Sean: guys we get Sean did a really good thing no need for every person to say it
@Ollie Watson:
I liked Sean before he was a hero
@Ollie Watson: Not up to you if people want to praise his actions.
@Sean: Fair play to you Sean for helping where you could. Not everyone does. Very well written and concise report.
@Sean: get yourself a pint Sean… Good work. Well done and a good night’s sleep in order no doubt.
@Sean: well done
@Sean: you did a great job sir!
@Sean: Well done.
@Ollie Watson: you make me really miss the thumbs down button
@Sean: was she on her phone? Looking up Instagram?
@Sean I was also at the scene and you were right to remove the driver from the car due to smoke (well done to you and everyone else who helped the injured!). I was somewhat disappointed armed Gardaí were not at the scene much quicker. Most would agree it was a similar scene to the horrific events across Europe. Gardaí are stationed on Harcourt Street just around the corner, yet ES had reached the scene much quicker from Donnybrook, Dolphin’s Barn and Tara Street. #NotReallyGoodEnough #JustSaying. Wishing all those affected a speedy/full recovery!
@Sean: the missus was there and told me about you. She was too afraid to offer you help! She told me about the shoe off on the male so figured you were EMT or better checking CSMs! Fair play. By all accounts, very well handled
@Sean: Well done!! We need more heroes like you. I know it was partly right place, right time, but many people would just stand there panicking and you took the right action. Hope everyone,including witnesses like yourself, recovers ok. Also hope peope stop speculating as to how this happened…there’s no point and we don’t know who is going to see what is written down here.
Hope all are OK. asks the question why and how was there such speed involve for this to be more than a fender bender.
@Dario Fo: probably on her phone
@Joey Navinski: Anybody who uses that junction regularly knows that there are often drivers who drive straight through the yield sign without looking. So @Richard Wright is most likely correct.
@Des O’Leary & John James (above): Richard may very well be correct. My point was the article gave no indication so it was pure conjecture on his part. Maybe a child ran out on the road and a driver swerved to avoid the child. Maybe a getaway car from a crime caused the collision. Maybe many possibilities at this stage.
I just hope this isn’t our Barcelona .. nothing would surprise me though.
@Fitty Piper: groaaan !
@Fitty Piper: I don’t think that was the case in this instance but it definitely could happen alright.
@Fitty Piper: Well that didn’t take long… *rolleyes
@Fitty Piper: I seriously doubt that!!! Ireland is a safe country..
@Fitty Piper: loser
@Padjii: Can of peas strikes again.
I was waiting at pedestrian crossing on Adelaide Road before the accident and same car drove towards me at very high speed, hit the curb and steered away. I looked at the car driving away and it didn’t even slow down. I got a shock but continued walking towards bus stop on Leeson Street. I saw ambulance and fire brigade heading there shortly after.
@Kristina Sandaraite: If it’s even true
@Tom Tom: so everyone believes sean’s fantastic story above but not kristina’s? Did you doubt Sean’s tale? why is HE more believable than SHE? i’d have no reason to disbelieve one over the other.
Very sensationalist title
@Anonymous: Sensationalist how? It literally states exactly what occured
@will stamp: with the recent environment? Realistically what was the first thing people thought of when they saw that headline. Could have phrased it better is all I’m saying. Something like “six people hospitalised after car accident” .. they want people to click
@Anonymous: perhaps right minded people realise that car accidents are quite common and not everything is a terrorist attack
@will stamp: Yeh, but this is the journal :)
@Bilbo Baggins: this is also true. But if was a terrorist attack it would have been huge headline news everywhere and not a random news app story
I hope anyone injured makes a full recovery. But I have to say this is just more bias story telling by the journal. Of course every story, nearly, is about DUBLIN. And now a car crash in Dublin makes headlines. You know over 70% of the population live outside of DUBLIN?.
In fact I would think this news outlet is probably dragging the country back…whinge whinge whinge about Dublin. Make us all like bafoons..when in actual fact the rest of the country is a fantastic place. Promote that.
@jenni: place and time, place and time. Also, if a car hit six people anywhere in the country it would be news, there was a car crash in Cork on here yesterday involving two cars.
@jenni:
If you want to appear in the national media start flipping cars on busy roads knocking over several people in your own towns. People will whinge about absolutely anything. An astounding comment from Jenni, chump of the week.
@jenni: feck off ya culchie! Tongue in cheek, yes there are indeed great places outside of Dublin!
@jenni: *buffoons
@jenni: How about the car crash in Cork yesterday that made headlines here? Or the one in Donegal on Sunday that made the headlines? Know how to pick your moments don’t you Jenni? Pathetic and crass. Speaking of *buffoons.
@jenni: Considering 39 percent of the population live in Dublin, I call foul on your figures. Odious does not even come close to your comment. You are a womble.
Hope all are ok. Christ, it’s awful what happened but I thought it might be something else.
@jenni: #AllFenderBendersMatter
@jenni: GREATER DUBLIN /MEATH /KILDARE, ACCOUNT FOR 65% OF THE STATES POPULATION.
@Agrippa: all of them
Stand down folks, don’t think it involves Muslim’s
@Daithí Uí Ciarmhaic: If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of disappointed xenophobes putting the champagne back in the fridge.
@Daithí Uí Ciarmhaic: It could still be an accident involving muslims
@thejournal
Why are comments allowed on this article?
I’ve used the word odious elsewhere in the comments in this article. I believe this applies to you too. Increasingly, I’m forced to view you as an advertising revenue making machine rather than a news source because lets be honest here, people come here to read the comments not the ‘news’…
@owentighe: three years and you’re only now realising that it’s not a charity
@Dave O Keeffe: Mildly interesting, sarcastic comment. Thankyou. I have known what it is from the beginning. However, with an article like this, what benefit does having comments offer?
@owentighe: Why would they disable comments on this?
@Liam flag: Precisely my point. If that seems disingenuous I apologise but it highlights the fact that the journal is not really interested in sharing news, it is interested in comments. A news report should be able to stand on it’s own words without the need for comments. I think it best I just put the journal down for a while because frankly I’m finding it a cess pitt of trolls, far right and left wingers, pedants, misogynists, racists, bigots, sexists, homophobes, anti brit, xenophobic small minded curmudgeonly parochial keyboard warriors. There are also a small number of sensible, intelligent and considered posters. I’ve been keeping notes the last couple of weeks and I’ve added up about 20 people in the former group who feel it necessary to exercise their right to comment.
@owentighe: I think most people just come here for the comments and I think they know that… So… they spend as little as possible doing journalism and just copy and paste from other sources and rely on their users to create the content which is actually interesting. Without the comments they’d just be another face in the online news crowd. Pretty clever really, though it probably wasn’t by design. They just got lucky I think.
@Liam flag: I agree 100%
My problem is with the comments. See my comment above.
@owentighe: Yep there’s all sorts here. That’s just life though (and the internet).
@owentighe: says you who can’t stay off the comments section
@owentighe: you’ve been keeping notes? Ah sure i do too, mentally. Maybe we all do it. I say that we’ve got rid of a few since the red thumbs were banished. Who made it to your small list? Let’s compare! :)
@owentighe: ‘My problem is with the comments’. ‘Why are comments allowed on this article?’.
Seriously? Think you have more comments on this article than anyone else.
@Sean: Fair play. Hope everyone is OK now.
Just glad she did’nt shout out Alluah Akbar..!
@Wes O’Toole: I heard she was looking for directions to Alan’s Snack bar..
Not a Muslim in sight
Although I don’t lke Muslims, people don’t jump and say religion of peace and all ! I am included in that type of person,it just shows that nobody think they will attack Ireland,which they wont,Ireland and islam have been bullied and isis know that
@Alt Left: first off you “don’t like muslims” ? Do you know any? 1.4 billion and you just don’t like them ? Very odd and it kind of make anything you have to say after that statement null and void imo. However, secondly I are you actually saying that although you don’t like muslims, you won’t automatically say it is them in every news story about cars running down people and don’t believe it could be or every will be here in Ireland because Isis think we have been bullied like them. Seriously? Do you know who ISIS are and why they are attacking? It is not about being bullied! It’s about fundementalism,( a bit like Alt left or Alt right)It’s about believing a certain type of doctrine and trying to enforce it by violence and terror.
@Missyb211:… FYI , that doctrine is Wahhabism and the majority of mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims worldwide strongly disagree with the interpretation of Wahhabism. Islamic scholars even denounce it as a “satanic faith”. so perhaps you could use that info to reconsider your interpretation on the mindset of ISIS and who they are likely to attack. Bullying! Some sort of comradery because of our suffering? LOL
@Turk Oneeighttwo: clown
The driver had an epileptic fit whilst driving. A young man has died since. A case of wrong place wrong time for all involved and an absolute tragedy. Enough with the smart-ass comments have some respect.
@Emma Lumsden: How do you know she had an epileptic fit ? Because even the family has no information about it…Please answer, the family need to know about it because you had to be sure of what you said in a public comment.
@Emma Lumsden: How do you know the driver had an epileptic fit ? Because even the family has no information about it !
Have the journal any f**** standard’s allowing people to comment and make assumpitons on a traffic accidents they have not seen . I do hope you get sued by all involved for allowing such slander
@Piarais Mac Maoláin: Another Pedant.
@jerry slattery: Slander is spoken. You’re thinking of libel, not that any’s been published here.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: In 2009 the law of defamation was changed which made the terms libel and slander obsolete, now it’s just defamation. Neither of which is applicable in this case.
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