Career
He also served as the Mayor of Mosman. He remained the Chairman of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council until his death in 2014. O'Keefe's father was Ray O'Keefe, a former Mayor of Waverley Municipal Council, and a furniture salesperson.
Barry O'Keefe was the brother of the late rock singer, Johnny O'Keefe, who died in 1978. Their parents sent both brothers to Waverley College, a private Roman Catholic school. Both Barry and John then earned Commonwealth scholarships to Sydney University, where Barry O'Keefe studied law.
O'Keefe was admitted to the New South Wales Bar Association in 1958 and appointed to Queen's Counsel in 1974. In 1977, O'Keefe was elected to the Mosman Municipal Council, a position he held for thirteen years, including three terms as the Mayor of Mosman. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1993, where he headed its Commercial law Division, and was an additional judge of the Court of Appeal, and as a judge of the Common Law Division and the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Australian Catholic University. O'Keefe died on 24 April 2014, at the age of 80.
