Joseph Gerald Finnegan (born 1 October 1942) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 2006 to 2012, President of the High Court from 2001 to 2006 and a Judge of the High Court from 1999 to 2006. Finnegan was technically the second highest ranking judge in Ireland while he was President of the High Court and was an ''ex officio'' member of the Supreme Court that he was subsequently appointed to as a full member. He was educated at Synge Street CBS and St. Mary's College

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 attended

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 collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and was awarded degrees of Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws. He qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner 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 ...

in 1966. He was Assistant Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland from 1968 to 1973. 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 ...

in 1978 and became Senior Counsel in 1990. He practised mainly in general common law and chancery matters. He had a particular interest in conveyancing and title related litigation. He was appointed to the High Court in 1999 and was appointed President of the High Court in 2001, a position which he held until his appointment to the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

in December 2006. He retired from the Supreme Court in 2012. He was a member of the Board of the Courts Service from 2001 to 2006, and sat on the Finance Committee and Remuneration Committee and was chairman of its Audit Committee. He has a keen interest in legal education and has been a member of the Education Committee of the Honorable Society of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

since 2000. He is a Bencher of the Honorable Society of King's Inns and a Bencher of the Honorable Society of Middle Temple.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnegan, Joseph Living people 1942 births Lawyers from Dublin (city) Presidents of the High Court (Ireland) 20th-century Irish judges Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at Synge Street CBS Alumni of King's Inns 21st-century Irish judges People educated at St Mary's College, Dundalk