James Geoghegan (8 December 1886 – 27 March 1951) was an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician, barrister and judge who served as a Judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1936 to 1950,

Attorney General of Ireland The attorney general of Ireland () is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabine ...

from November 1936 to December 1936 and

Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1932 to 1933. He also served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency from 1930 to 1936.

Early life

Geoghegan was born in Walshestown,

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, the son of Thomas Geoghegan, a farmer, and his wife Bridget (née Carney). He was educated at CBS Mullingar.

Career

Geoghegan was admitted as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

at the age of 21 and practised in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

and

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

. Relinquishing the solicitor side of the profession, he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of Ireland on 1 November 1915 and to the Bar of England in 1923. He practised successfully as

junior counsel A junior barrister is a barrister who has not yet attained the rank of King's Counsel. Although the term is archaic and not commonly used, junior barristers (or "juniors") can also be referred to as utter barristers derived from "outer barrister ...

before becoming a senior counsel in 1925. Geoghegan had been a pro-Treaty Redmondite and had joined

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

in the early 1920s. He came into contact with

when he was among those advising

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

on the payment of land annuities, and in 1930, he joined that party. He was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

in a by-election on 13 June 1930 as a Fianna Fáil TD for Longford–Westmeath. When Fianna Fáil took office in March 1932, he was appointed

. This was a sensitive post, coming in the first change of government since the Civil War. As well as being fitted by his legal expertise, the choice of Geoghegan, with his Cumann na nGaedheal background, offered the opposition reassurance as to de Valera's intentions. He held the post for almost a year. He resumed his law career when a new government was formed in February 1933 after the 1933 general election. One of Geoghegan's last acts as minister was to sign an order deporting

James Gralton James Gralton (17 April 1886 – 29 December 1945) was an Irish socialist leader who became a United States citizen after emigrating in 1909 and, later, the only Irishman ever deported from independent Ireland. Biography Early life James Gralt ...

from Ireland, the only Irish citizen ever to be deported by the Irish state. The historian Dónall Ó Drisceoil has suggested that Geoghegan's position as a Knight of Saint Columbanus was why he gave into Catholic Church pressure to deport the "communist" Gralton. Over the next few years, he represented the government in several important legal actions. In 1936, Geoghegan became

, serving for less than two months. In his brief tenure, he assisted the government in the preparation and enactment of the

External Relations Act The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (No. 58 of 1936) was an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). The Act, which was signed into law on 12 December 1936, was one of two passed hurriedly in the aftermath of the Edward VIII ab ...

on 12 December 1936, before being appointed a judge of the

on 22 December 1936, vacating his seat in the Dáil. Geoghegan remained on the bench of the Supreme Court until his retirement due to ill health in April 1950. His son,

Hugh Geoghegan Hugh Geoghegan (16 May 1938 – 7 July 2024) was an Irish judge who served on the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2010 and on the High Court from 1992 to 2000. Early life Geoghegan was born on 16 May 1938. His father James Geoghegan was a judge ...

enjoyed the distinction in 2000 of being the first appointee to Ireland's Supreme Court to follow in his father's footsteps.

Later life and death

Geoghegan had suffered ill health for several years before his retirement. He died in Portobello House,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 27 March 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geoghegan, James 1886 births 1951 deaths Attorneys general of Ireland Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 6th Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Members of the 8th Dáil Judges of the Supreme Court of Ireland Ministers for justice of Ireland 20th-century Irish judges Alumni of King's Inns People from Mullingar Lawyers from County Westmeath Politicians from County Westmeath People educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar