Mayo lawyer is honoured with national award

SAMANTHA Geraghty, partner of Swinford law firm P. O’Connor & Son, has been honoured at the Irish Law Awards 2017.

Ms. Geraghty was shortlisted as a finalist in the Irish Language Practitioner of the Year category together with Maura Butler of the Law Society of Ireland and Seán Ó’Cearbhaill of O’Carroll & Company, Galway.

She was announced as the winner by RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan at the awards ceremony for demonstrating a mastery of the Irish language in the provision of legal services.

Ms. Geraghty has dealt with many court applications in the Irish language. She has presented rigorous challenges in cases where the State has failed in its constitutional obligation to provide translations of Acts of the Oireachtas within a reasonable timeframe, most notably in the 2016 decision of the courts relating to the legislation governing the issue of court summonses.

She is a regular contributor on Radio na Gaeltachta in relation to legal affairs. She is included on the Law Society’s Clár na Cleachtóirí Gaeilge. She completed the Advanced Legal Practitioner Irish programme in 2014.

She holds a Bachelor of Civil Law degree and a Masters degree in Commercial Law, both from UCD. She is an AITI qualified Chartered Tax advisor, a Notary Public and a legal representative with the Mental Health Commission.

Ms. Geraghty is a partner in the firm of P. O’Connor & Son, one of the leading west of Ireland law firms, and practises predominantly in the areas of commercial property and banking while also maintaining a limited district court practice.