Hugh Geoghegan Death – Following his death on Sunday, Mr. Justice Geoghegan is survived by his spouse and three children: pediatrician Sarah Geoghegan, senior attorney Caren Geoghegan, and Fine Gael Councillor and Dublin Lord Mayor James Geoghegan.
He hailed from a legal family. In 1981, Mr. Justice Geoghegan married Ms. Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan, a retired Supreme Court judge who also came from a prominent legal family.
His father, James, was also a Supreme Court judge. Mr. Justice Geoghegan attended the King’s Inns, University College Dublin, and Clongowes Wood College for his schooling.
He practiced in Dublin and the Midland Circuit after being admitted to the bar in 1962 and rising to the rank of senior counsel in 1977. He chaired a group that advocated the creation of the Labour Relations group and testified as counsel before the tribunal investigating the Stardust fire tragedy.
Mr Hugh’s family life
Mr. Justice Geoghegan hailed from a legal family. In 1981, Mr. Justice Geoghegan married Ms. Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan, a retired Supreme Court judge who also came from a prominent legal family.
His father, James, was also a Supreme Court judge. Mr. Justice Geoghegan attended the King’s Inns, University College Dublin, and Clongowes Wood College for his schooling. “Victim impact and the distress caused to a victim are important factors in sentencing,” he stated, but “equally important” was the possibility of rehabilitating the perpetrator to stop future crimes.
“The one clear message that should be got across is that rehabilitation is always to the benefit of the public even more than it is to the benefit of the prisoner,” he told me.
When he retired from the Supreme Court bench in 2010, senior counsel Michael Collins, the Bar Council’s then-chairman, stated that “kindness” summed up Mr Justice Geoghegan’s judicial and personal traits. He stated that his verdicts were infused with a strong sense of humanity and compassion. He’ll be missed.