Born: 17 December 1948, Albany Road, Ranelagh, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 23 November 1966, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Died: 31 December 2024, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin (Rathfanham, Dublin)

Left Society of Jesus: 01 April 1967

Father, Kevin, was an Architect. Mother was Patricia (Moyne).

1 Younger Brother; 3 older and 1 younger Sisters

Educated at Gonzaga College SJ, Dublin

Baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin, 23/12/1948
Confirmed at Church of the Holy Name, Beechwood Avenue, Dublin, by Dr Dunne of Dublin, 09/03/1960

Lived in Rathfarnham until his death in 2024

https://rip.ie/death-notice/peter-barry-dublin-rathfarnham-580017

The death has occurred of

Peter Barry
Rathfarnham, Dublin

Peter Barry (Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin), 31st December, 2024. Peacefully, in the wonderful care of the staff at St. Vincent's Private Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. Predeceased by his parents Maureen and Peter and his sister Paula. Peter will be sadly missed by his beloved wife Anne and cherished son Graham. Peter will be greatly missed by his sisters, brother, nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, extended family and friends.

A celebration of Peter's life will take place on Saturday at 2pm (4th January) in Fanagans Funeral Home, Willbrook, Rathfarnham, D14W029, followed by Cremation in Mount Jerome.

Date Published:
Tuesday 31st December 2024

Date of Death:
Tuesday 31st December 2024

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/peter-barry-one-of-the-foremost-eye-surgeons-of-his-generation-1.2688815

Obituaries
Peter Barry: One of the foremost eye surgeons of his generation
Obituary: He used surgical skill, persuasiveness and humility to achieve the best possible clinical outcomes

Peter Barry FRCS, who has died unexpectedly after a brief illness aged 67 years, was one of the foremost eye surgeons of his generation. As well as being an international ambassador for Irish ophthalmology, he was the national clinical lead for ophthalmology, leading wide-reaching reforms in hospital and community delivery of eye healthcare.

He pioneered major surgical advances in Irish and European ophthalmology: modern cataract surgery and primary vitrectomy for retinal detachment repair in the early 1980s.

Having wide-ranging international impact, he was a cofounder and recently president of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS). In addition to superb surgical outcomes in his own patients, thousands more had safer cataract surgery when he chaired the first international clinical trial proving the benefit of prophylactic antibiotics. This landmark study has now been accepted worldwide as setting the clinical standard of care in dramatically reducing post-operative infection, the most devastating blinding complication of cataract surgery.

Peter James Barry was born in Dublin and educated at Gonzaga College. Being academic, gregarious and quietly religious, he briefly started Jesuit studies but quickly switched to UCD medical school. Clinical training in ophthalmology began at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, with completion of the majority of his clinical residency at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.

Absolute focus
Fellowship training followed in London and the US in vitreoretinal surgery, then in its infancy, but Moorfields quickly established itself as an international leader under Peter’s mentors, David McLeod, Peter Leaver and Robert Cooling. Appointed consultant ophthalmic surgeon in 1984 to his alma mater, the Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, he initiated vitreoretinal surgery and maintained a continuous separate retinal detachment rota.

He had a joint appointment with St Vincent’s University Hospital, where he quickly established a dedicated registrar cataract training module.

As ESCRS president, he established three themes: youth, education and research which reflected his lifetime clinical focus. He took an immense interest in fostering the careers of many future ophthalmologists. Combining the attributes of high clinical and surgical acumen, work ethic and attention to detail, his clinics and operating lists were both intense and occasionally dramatic. Mentoring by example, he expected the same absolute focus. Patient empathy was his main driving force and he used his surgical skill, persuasiveness and humility to achieve the best possible clinical outcomes.

Charismatic and debonair
Peter Barry’s Sunday routine began with a ward round at the Eye and Ear Hospital accompanied by his daughter Lisa, followed by ice cream and reading at Mass at St Vincent’s.

Charismatic and debonair, he was great company in social situations and an eloquent protagonist in formal meetings. He was just as happy delivering the Ridley Medal Lecture as sharing clinical woes with a colleague.

He was a devoted family man and he is survived by his wife Carmel and four adult children, David, Stephen, Simon and Lisa.

https://soevision.org/news/peter-barry/

Peter Barry
The SOE Board and Committees would like to extend their sincere sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr Peter Barry, FRCS, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology in St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, who died Thursday, 26 May 2016 after a short illness.

Dr Barry was the senior retinal surgeon at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin. Having completed his training at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital in London, UK, Dr Barry completed a retinal fellowship in the United States. Dr Barry was a founding member of the ESCRS and served as Treasurer, President, Director and guiding light at ESCRS. He was also an integral part The European Alliance for Vision Research and Ophthalmology.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

https://www.escrs.org/eurotimes/peter-barry-1948-2016

PETER BARRY 1948-2016

David Spalton
Published: Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Peter’s sudden and tragic death was a shock for all of us. He was a particularly good friend to me and to many of you who are reading this.
Peter co-organised the European Intraocular Implant Club meeting in Dublin, Ireland in 1990. It was at this meeting that the decision was taken to change the name of the society to the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and from that time Peter served as a board member, treasurer, then as president, and finally
as a director.

Throughout all these years he was a steady guiding hand, the work of the society never far from his heart, and the formative role he had in the success of the ESCRS cannot be overstated. In my opinion this success was due to two strong personality attributes – the first being a superb ability to chair a committee meeting, and the second being a dogged determination to see something through to the end once he had started on it, strongly aided by some Irish charm and a puckish sense of humour.

Time and time again I would watch in admiration as, during a committee meeting, after a sometimes lengthy and rather stringent discussion, he would summarise the problem and come up with the common-sense solution that we had all missed, which we could all agree on, and then we would move on to the next item on the agenda.

Through his friendship with Ulf Stenevi and Mats Lundström, he led the way in developing the society’s studies in the prevention of postoperative endophthalmitis and benchmarking surgical outcomes with the
EUREQUO database.

His greatest memorial will be the endophthalmitis study which eventually turned out to be the biggest antibiotic study ever undertaken. He conceived the project, raised the finance and put together a dedicated and expert team, and then saw the project through the trials and tribulations of regulation, bureaucracy and recruitment until its
eventual success.

As we all know now, the intracameral injection of cefuroxime at the end of surgery reduces the incidence of infection five-fold. The study has become the standard of care in many countries and we, as surgeons, and more importantly our patients have good reason to be grateful to him. Few of us will ever leave such a legacy.

Peter was educated at Gonzaga College in Dublin. At one time he contemplated a career in the Church and few of us knew he retained a strong Christian faith throughout his life. However, he went into medicine instead, graduating from University College Dublin in 1974, where he won the Medical Society Gold Medal and also the Gibson Cup, the Irish Medical Schools Debating Cup (perhaps an early sign of later achievements).

He was a resident at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London from 1976 to 1979, followed by a retina fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. After this he returned to a consultant appointment at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

His funeral took place on the most perfect Irish summer day at the church opposite St Vincent’s Hospital, with a congregation packed to standing room only with his family, his friends and colleagues, golfing chums, and I suspect a large number of grateful patients too. Lisa, his 20-year-old daughter, with great courage and fortitude, gave a eulogy none of those present will ever forget. It was an incredibly sad end to a life so well lived and we all extend our sympathy to his wife Carmel, and his children David, Stephen, Simon and Lisa.

Prof David Spalton is President of the ESCRS

https://www.vision-research.eu/index.php?id=1058

Professor Peter Barry passed away

It is with very great sadness that the EVI announces the death of our colleague Dr Peter Barry, who passed away on Thursday, 26 May 2016 after a short illness.

He was a person of great vision who made an immense contribution not only to the success of the ESCRS but to the wider world of ophthalmology, as indicated by our featured article under http://www.vision-research.eu/index.php?id=888 in remembrance of Peter

Peter Barry was head of the Department of Ophthalmology in St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin and was the senior retinal surgeon at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin. Having completed his training at Moorfield's Eye Hospital in London, one of the largest eye hospitals in the world, Peter completed a retinal fellowship in the USA.

Peter has served on the Board of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons for over twenty years first - as Treasurer and as President of this prestigious Society. He was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Irish College of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and the United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Peter will be sorely missed.

Born: 16 May 1938, Carne Lodge, Cowper Gardens, Rathmines, Dublin City, County Dublin
Entered: 07 September 1956, St Mary's, Emo, County Laois
Died: 07 July 2024, Cherryfield Lodge, Milltown Park, Dublin

Left Society of Jesus: 25 June 1958

Father, James, was a Supreme Court Judge and died in 1951. Mother was Eileen Murphy.

Older of two boys.

Educated at a Convent school in Bray for three years, and then a further three at Willow Park, Blackrock, he then went to Clongowes Wood College Sj for six years.

Baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin, 23/05/1938
Confirmed at St John the Baptist, Blackrock, Newtown Avenue, Blackrock, Dublin, 07/06/1949

https://rip.ie/death-notice/hugh-geoghegan-dublin-561762

The death has occurred of

Hugh GEOGHEGAN
Dublin
Peacefully. Beloved and loving husband of Mary, father of Caren, Sarah and James. Much loved also by his brother Ross, sons-in-law Kris and Bobby, daughter-in law Claire, his grandchildren Mary, Jane, Hugh, Eva, Harry, Laoise, Lila, Moya and Beth, sisters-in-law Suzanne, Joan, Ruth, Caroline and Geraldine, and brothers-in-law Tom, John and Liam, cousins, nephews, nieces, relatives and many friends.

Removal on Wednesday morning (July 10) to the Church of the Holy Name, Beechwood Avenue arriving for Funeral mass at 10.00 o’c followed by burial at Glasnevin Cemetery.Family flowers only.

Date Published:
Monday 8th July 2024

Date of Death:
Sunday 7th July 2024

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/07/08/retired-supreme-court-judge-hugh-geoghegan-dies-aged-86/

Retired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan has died at the age of 86.

Mr Justice Geoghegan came from a family steeped in law. His father, James, was also a Supreme Court judge and in 1981 Mr Justice Geoghegan himself married another retired Supreme Court judge, Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan, also from a well-known legal family.

Mr Justice Geoghegan received his education at Clongowes Wood College, University College Dublin and the King’s Inns.

He was called to the Bar in 1962 and became a senior counsel in 1977, practising in Dublin and the Midland Circuit. He appeared as counsel before the tribunal into the Stardust fire disaster and chaired a commission that recommended the formation of the Labour Relations Commission.

He was appointed a judge of the High Court in 1992 and became a judge of the Supreme Court eight years later.

In an address to the International Prison Chaplains Conference in 2003, Mr Justice Geoghegan criticised media accusations of alleged “soft” sentencing of criminals and comparisons with the treatment of victims.

t was “an absurd idea that because a judge or other powers-that-be demonstrate concern for the rehabilitation of a criminal, they are thereby showing lack of respect or lack of concern for the victim”, he said.

The constant media contrasting of the two was the “most damaging and dangerous of all the errors that are made in an ill-thought-out public perception of the criminal system”, he said.

He said “victim impact and the distress caused to a victim are important factors in sentencing” but the potential of rehabilitating the offender so as to prevent future crimes was “equally important”.

“The one clear message that should be got across is that rehabilitation is always to the benefit of the public even more than it is to the benefit of the prisoner,” he said.

When he retired from the Supreme Court bench in 2010, senior counsel Michael Collins, the then chairman of the Bar Council, said “kindness” was the one word that summed up Mr Justice Geoghegan’s judicial and personal qualities. His judgments were infused with a deep sense of humanity and compassion, he said.

Mr Justice Geoghegan, who died on Sunday, is survived by his wife and three children – Fine Gael Councillor and Dublin Lord Mayor James Geoghegan; senior counsel Caren Geoghegan; and Sarah Geoghegan, a paediatrician.

https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/top-stories/2024/july/death-of-retired-supreme-court-judge

etired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan died yesterday (7 July) aged 86.

He died yesterday and is survived by his wife, retired Supreme Court judge Mrs Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan, and three children, Caren, Sarah and James, who is a Fine Gael Dublin City councillor.

Inner Bar
The deceased was called to the Bar in 1962 and to the Inner Bar in 1977, becming a High Court judge in 1992.

In 2000 he was appointed to the Supreme Court.

His removal will take place on Wednesday morning (July 10) to the Church of the Holy Name, Beechwood Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, for funeral Mass at 10 am. The funeral will be followed by burial at Glasnevin Cemetery.

'Learned and kind'
Justice minister Helen McEntee said: “It is with deep sadness that I learned of the passing of retired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan.

“I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Judge Mary Finlay Geoghegan, to their family, Caren, Sarah and James, extended family and loved ones.

“Hugh Geoghegan was a very learned, kind and gentle man who served the State with huge distinction from his appointment to the High Court in 1992, going on to serve on the Supreme Court bench in 2000 until his retirement in 2010.

“I know he will be sadly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam dílis.”

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/ca184-statement-by-minister-for-justice-helen-mcentee-td-on-death-of-retired-judge-hugh-geoghegan/

Statement by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, TD on death of retired judge Hugh Geoghegan
From Department of Justice

Published on 9 July 2024

Last updated on 9 July 2024

“It is with deep sadness that I learned of the passing of retired Supreme Court judge the Hon Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan.

"I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Judge Mary Finlay Geoghegan, to their family, Caren, Sarah, and James, extended family and loved ones.

"Hugh Geoghegan was a very learned, kind and gentle man who served the State with huge distinction from his appointment to the High Court in 1992, going on to serve on the Supreme Court bench in 2000 until his retirement in 2010.

"I know he will be sadly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

"Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam dílis.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2024/07/10/retired-supreme-court-judge-hugh-geoghegan-remembered-at-funeral-mass-as-man-of-boundless-curiosity/?

Retired Supreme Court judge Hugh Geoghegan remembered at funeral Mass as man ‘of boundless curiosity’
Congregation hears that judge’s ‘only regret in life’ was not having met his wife sooner

A retired Supreme Court judge, Hugh Geoghegan, was remembered as a loving husband and father, a loyal friend, and a man of “boundless curiosity” at his funeral Mass on Wednesday.

He died last Sunday aged 86.

At his 60th birthday celebration, her father said his only regret in life was that he had not met Mary, his wife of 43 years, sooner, senior counsel Caren Geoghegan said.

Her Dad was an “amazing father” who invented many stories and games for his three young children but, “rather than I spy, we were quizzed about the capital cities of the most obscure countries”.

No subject was off limits at family dinners and she recalled her father saying to her mother: “Mary, I will not be censored,” Ms Geoghegan said.

James Geoghegan, Fine Gael councillor and Dublin lord mayor, said the family were overwhelmed by the many tributes to his father emphasising his compassion and kindness.

His father was a man of “boundless curiosity” who was “obsessive” about current affairs. He recalled being in a car with a radio antennae stuck outside the window as his father tried to find out if the Belfast Agreement had been signed.

Above all, his father “absolutely adored Mum and loved his family”, he said. “Dad, in the fullest of health, was a permanent source of amusement and fun, he made us laugh so much, he adored conversation and controversy.”

Both siblings were speaking at a Mass of thanksgiving in Dublin for the judge. .

The chief celebrant was Fr Michael Sheil SJ, a lifelong friend of the late judge since they met as students of Clongowes Wood College.

His friend’s judgments had been described as “infused with humanity and compassion” which summed him up very well, Fr Sheil said. “He brought so much gentle happiness and laughter into people’s lives.”

The chief mourners were the judge’s wife Mary Finlay Geoghegan, also a retired Supreme Court judge, son James, daughters Caren and Sarah, brother Ross, and extended family including nine grandchildren.

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Simon Harris were represented by their aides de camp.

Attorney General Rossa Fanning was among the packed congregation as were many serving and retired judges of the superior courts, including Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell, Court of Appeal president George Birmingham and High Court president David Barniville.

Former chief justice Susan Denham and former High Court presidents Mary Irvine and Peter Kelly, many barristers and solicitors, and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik also attended.

A native of Dublin, Hugh Geoghegan was called to the Bar in 1962 and became a senior counsel in 1977, practising in Dublin and the midlands circuit. He was appointed a judge of the High Court in 1992 and a judge of the Supreme Court eight years later.