University commissions Judge McGuinness portrait by Mayo artist
RETIRED Supreme Court Judge Catherine McGuinness has been honoured by NUI Galway with the unveiling of a specially commissioned portrait at the university.
Judge McGuinness served as Chair of Údarás na hOllscoile - the university’s governing authority from 2013 until 2021.
The portrait, by award-winning Mayo artist Hetty Lawlor, was specially commissioned to mark her exceptional contribution to NUI Galway.
Catherine McGuinness guided the university through a significant period in its development. Under her stewardship NUI Galway saw the transformation of its campuses, with the addition of many new facilities for teaching and research, significant increases in student numbers and rapid growth in the university’s research performance and profile internationally.
Unveiling the artwork, president of NUI Galway Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh paid tribute to Judge McGuinness’s career and advocacy.
He said: “This portrait captures the kindness and wisdom of Catherine McGuinness, attributes which she brought to us at NUI Galway and to her life and career. At NUI Galway our values - respect, openness, excellence and sustainability - are important to us. Our aim is that they are the lodestar for all our work as a community and for the public good.
"It is a privilege to have worked with someone whose life and career is the very embodiment of the essence of those values.”
Catherine McGuinness is a retired Supreme Court judge, former senator and lifelong activist. She was the first woman appointed a judge in the Circuit Court.
A tireless campaigner for social justice, Catherine McGuinness was a prominent campaigner for both the Children’s Rights referendum, the Marriage Equality referendum and the repeal of the Eight Amendment.
Artist Hetty Lawlor (22), from Westport, is currently studying art in Dublin. Portraiture has been a focus of her work from the start and has led her well through opportunities and competitions such as Sky Portrait artist of the Year, the RHA and the Clifden Arts Festival.
Her private work includes a commissioned portrait of Ms. Justice Mary Laffoy for the Bar of Ireland and she was also a member of the judging panel for the Young Portrait Prize in the National Gallery of Ireland.