I was pleased to have attended the launch of a book of the writings of Michael Kirby on 29 January 2026.
Law, Justice and Other Challenges – Selected Speeches and Papers of Michael Kirby is a collection of articles written by Mr Kirby and edited by Dr Paul Vout KC, an associate of Mr Kirby when he was a Judge on the NSW Court of Appeal. Another former associate, Her Excellency The Hon Ms Sam Mostyn AC, also attended, and she contributes a thoughtful foreword to the book.
The launch was hosted by Chief Justice Andrew Bell in the NSW Supreme Court’s Banco Court, and the launch address was given by the Chief Justice of the High Court, Stephen Gageler.
I was very pleased to have with me at the launch my sister Kathy Ireland who was for many years a partner of the firm now known as Hicksons, the original firm being Hickson, Lakeman and Holcombe, where Mr Kirby first started as a lawyer back in the 1960s. Mr Kirby was a regular visitor to that firm during her time there. Chapter 5 of the book is an account of Mr Kirby’s experience in that firm.
Grace Ireland, Michael Murray, Kathy Ireland with Michael Kirby, 29 January 2026.
And I was especially pleased that my niece, Grace Ireland, my sister’s daughter, was also able to attend. Grace is in her final honours year of communications/law at UTS and Michael kindly met with her when she first contemplated legal study.
This is not a review of the book. Suffice to explain that the book’s 782 pages are divided biographically, from Mr Kirby’s early student and practitioner days, to his roles as law reformer, judge, as an advocate for human rights and social inclusion, as internationalist, and as biographer.
I had thought of picking out some ‘highlights’ of the book but after some close reading I decided there were just too many. That was the difficult task of the editor, Dr Vout, in selecting material from the vast literature of Mr Kirby.
As Chief Justice Gageler explained, the book represents under 2% of Mr Kirby’s learned writings. Apart from the legal content, the selection is a significant achievement.
More detail is provided by its publisher, Federation Press: Law, Justice and Other Challenges – The Federation Press.
