Feargus Michael Flood (2 July 1928 – 10 September 2022) was an Irish judge. A member of the High Court from 1991 to 2000, he chaired the Flood Tribunal which investigated allegations of corrupt payments to politicians.

Early life

Flood was born in

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

in 1928. The son of a banker, he was educated at

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

and King's Inns.

Career

Flood spent the earlier parts of his legal career practising as a

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and

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

, Cavan and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. He was appointed to the High Court in 1991. Flood became chairman of the Planning and Payments Tribunal in November 1997. Known as the Flood Tribunal, it was originally set up to probe allegations of corruption against former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

minister Ray Burke but was extended to cover alleged corruption involving land developers and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

politicians as well as former assistant Dublin city and county manager

George Redmond George Redmond (c. 1924 – 17 February 2016) was an Irish Assistant City and County Manager until his retirement on 23 June 1989 at the age of 65. He spent his entire career working for the Dublin local authorities commencing as a clerk in Dublin ...

. Flood stepped down as chairman in 2003.

Personal life and death

Flood met his future wife, Anna Maria, on a holiday in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. They married in 1963 and had three children. Flood suffered from Alzheimer's disease in later life and died on 10 September 2022, at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Feargus 1928 births 2022 deaths High Court judges (Ireland) Irish Senior Counsel Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns People educated at Castleknock College 20th-century Irish lawyers 20th-century Irish judges 21st-century Irish judges People from Ballyshannon Lawyers from County Donegal