Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan
Victoria | |
---|---|
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
Preceded by | John Thomas Ball |
Succeeded by | Hugh Law |
Personal details | |
Born | 29 May 1812 Belfast |
Died | 1 February 1885 Hereford House, London | (aged 72)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal |
Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan,
Background and education
O'Hagan was born in Belfast, the son of Edward O'Hagan, a merchant, and his wife Mary Bell, daughter of Captain Thomas Bell. He was educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution, being in his day the only Catholic in the school.[1] In 1836 he was called to the Irish Bar.[2]
Career
Between 1838 and 1841 O'Hagan was the editor of The Newry Examiner.
O'Hagan was the first
His tenure as Lord Chancellor saw several major legislative reforms in Ireland, of which the most notable was the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870, providing compensation for tenants in the event of eviction. His first term as Chancellor was also notable for his continual clashes with the other judge of appeal, Jonathan Christian, a bitter-tongued man with a deep contempt for most of his judicial colleagues, including O'Hagan, who he regarded as lazy and unqualified. Christian even published a letter in The Times attacking O'Hagan and his highly regarded Scottish colleague Lord Blackburn, who had voted to reverse one of his judgments. O'Hagan for his part seems to have regarded Christian as little more than a nuisance, but on taking up office for his second term, he did not hide his relief that Christian had retired.
On his retirement from office Lord O'Hagan was in 1882 appointed a
Personal life
Lord O'Hagan married firstly in 1836 Mary Teeling, daughter of Charles Hamilton Teeling of Belfast. They had a son Charles who died 1896 in Dublin, and two daughters, Frances and Madeline. Mary died in 1868.
He married secondly in 1871 Alice Towneley, daughter and co-heiress of
After the death of John Towneley in 1878, O'Hagan inherited the Towneley family trustee position at the British Museum.[6]
Lord O'Hagan died at Hereford House, London, in February 1885, aged 72, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Thomas (1878–1900), and then by another son, Maurice Herbert Towneley (born 1882).[2]
The
O'Hagan's sister
. Her biography was written by her protege MF Cusack (1839–1899), "the Nun of Kenmare".
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References
- ^ Campbell, Fegus (2009). The Irish Establishment 1879-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 323.
- ^ a b c d public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "O'Hagan, Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 25. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
- ^ "No. 23624". The London Gazette. 14 June 1870. p. 2957.
- ^ Trustees of the Museum (10 December 1898). Statutes and Rules for the British Museum. London: Woodfall and Kinder. p. 31 – via Internet Archive (Biodiversity Heritage Library).
- ^ Burke's Peerage. 1959.