John M Kelly Memorial Lecture 2026
UCD Sutherland School of Law is honoured to welcomeMr Justice Gerard Hogan to deliver the annual John M Kelly Memorial Lecture with the title "John Kelly and the Development of Constitutional Law: The Past, Present and the Future", re-examining Professor Kelly’s ground-breaking book Fundamental Rights in Irish Law and Constitution
Date: Tuesday 3rd March 2026
Title: "John Kelly and the Development of Constitutional Law: the Past, the Present and the Future"
Time: 6.00pm Registration (Tea/Coffee), Lecture starts at 6.30pm sharp, followed by a reception at 7.30pm
Venue: A&L Goodbody Theatre (L024), UCD Sutherland School of Law
Register: (opens in a new window)At this link
Note: All are welcome to attend this event but due to limited capacity, pre-registration is required.
Mr Justice Gerard Hogan
A native of Tipperary, Mr Justice Hogan was educated at University College Dublin, the University of Pennsylvania, The Honorary Society of King’s Inns, and Trinity College. He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1984 and to the Inner Bar in 1997. Mr Justice Hogan previously served as a judge of the High Court from 2010 to 2014, as a judge of the Court of Appeal from 2014 to 2018, and as Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 2019 to 2021.
Mr Justice Hogan was appointed to the Supreme Court in October 2021.
Lecture Abstract:
"John Kelly and the Development of Constitutional Law: the Past, the Present and the Future"
The introductory essay in John M. Kelly’s ground-breaking book, Fundamental Rights in Irish Law and Constitution (2nd .ed., 1967) is widely regarded as a masterpiece. Beautifully written, this incisive piece offered Kelly’s own thoughts on the system of judicial review of legislation contained in the Constitution. In this lecture a former student, Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan, re-examines Kelly’s theses as expressed in this seminal essay from 1967 to see if they explain the past, define the present and perhaps even influence the future course of our constitutional law.
John M. Kelly Memorial Lecture
The lecture series honours the memory of the late John M Kelly (1931 – 1991), former government minister, Attorney General and law professor in UCD. It has been hosted by the UCD School of Law for more than 20 years. It is one of the most prestigious events hosted by the School and, since its beginnings, many senior members of the Irish and international judiciary have delivered this lecture.
John M Kelly was Professor of Roman Law and Jurisprudence at UCD and a renowned expert in constitutional law. He was elected to the Seanad in 1969 and subsequently served as TD for Dublin South from 1973 - 1989, when he retired from politics. He served as a Junior Minister in the 70s and subsequently as Attorney General, acting Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Trade and Tourism. He was widely published in the area of constitutional law including the following publications: Fundamental Rights in Irish Law, Constituting Roman Litigation, Studies in Civil Jurisprudence of the Roman Republic and The Irish Constitution.