Gerald FitzGibbon (Irish lawyer)

The Right Honourable Gerald FitzGibbon
FitzGibbon's statue in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Lord Justice of the Irish Court of Appeal
In office 1878–1909
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	Rickard Deasy
Succeeded by	Charles Robert Barry
Solicitor-General for Ireland
In office 3 March 1877 – 1878
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	Hon. David Plunket
Succeeded by	Hugh Holmes
Personal details
Born	1837
Died	14 October 1909
Nationality	Irish
Spouse(s)	Margaret Ann FitzGerald
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin

Gerald FitzGibbon PC (1837 – 14 October 1909) was an Irish barrister and judge, who is regarded as one of the outstanding Irish jurists of his time. He came from a family which produced three generations of eminent lawyers, with the father, son and grandson each bearing the name Gerald FitzGibbon.

He was the elder of the two sons of Gerald FitzGibbon, QC, Master in Chancery, and his wife Ellen Patterson of Belfast; his younger brother Henry (died 1912) was a distinguished doctor. The younger Gerald was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was elected a Scholar. He retained deep feelings of affection and loyalty towards Trinity College throughout his life, and gave evidence on its behalf before a Royal Commission in 1906.

He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1857. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1860 and to the English Bar the following year. He went on the Munster Circuit, where he quickly acquired a large practice. He was a fine lawyer and an eloquent speaker. Maurice Healy recalled his "beautiful voice", which was sometimes compared to that of the great Russian singer Feodor Chaliapin: this, combined with a certain natural acting ability, made his arguments extraordinarily persuasive.

His Courtroom triumphs included the libel action O'Keeffe v Cardinal Cullen, an unprecedented legal victory by a Catholic priest against Cardinal Paul Cullen (although the verdict was reversed on appeal).

Another great triumph was in the disputed will case of Bagot v Bagot, where he appeared for Mrs. Alice Bagot (nee Verner), daughter of Sir William Verner, 2nd Baronet, and widow of Christopher Nevile Bagot, of Aughrane Castle, Justice of the Peace for County Galway. Her husband had denied paternity of her son, William, and disinherited him in favour of Christopher's brother John. Fitzgibbon's eloquence, in the teeth of formidable medical evidence on the paternity issue produced by John Bagot, the beneficiary under his brother's will, persuaded the jury that Bagot was under a temporary mental delusion when he wrote his will, and that the child was his.