Proud Tyrone man takes over the reins as county’s Sheriff

A FORMER law lecturer from Newtownstewart has been appointed as the county’s new High Sheriff.

David Moore, born and reared in Newtown, received confirmation of his Royal appointment at the start of January. He will serve in the honorary role for the next 12 months.

Mr Moore said, “It is an interesting time to be appointed the High Sheriff and I am very much looking forward to the year ahead.

“I was asked to express my willingness for my name to be put forward to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) around three years ago.”

The High Sheriff role is one of the oldest offices in the British monarchy, dating back to the Saxon times. It came to Ireland under the rule of Elizabeth I and its function is to represent the law of the Crown in each county of the UK.

However, in today’s terms, the role has been reduced to a mostly ceremonial one, with high sheriffs often appearing at events in the absence of a county’s Lord Lieutenant.

Mr Moore said, “I am looking forward to finding out the scope of my involvement and the chances to greet people across Tyrone.”

During a long academic career, the proud Newtownstewart man spent 25 years teaching law at Queen’s University in Belfast.

He said, “I taught ambitious lawyers, some of whom flourished in courts across Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane and Enniskillen.

“As many of these students and colleagues from Queen’s will tell you, I am a proud Tyrone man and my family have lived here for many years.”

Mr Moore’s law career was not limited to the North, as he frequently sat in courts across England during his time serving on criminal claims appeal and tax law committees.

The Newtownstewart man also takes pride in the many years of successes enjoyed by the Tyrone GAA senior footballers, who are jointly-managed by his friend – and fellow ‘legal eagle’ – Feargal Logan.