Henry George Hughes

Henry George Hughes (10 August 1810 – 22 July 1872) was an Irish judge, politician, and third Baron of the Court of Exchequer. In 1850 he was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Longford in 1856.

Background and early career He was born in Dublin, eldest son of James Hughes, solicitor, and Margaret Morton, daughter of Trevor Stannus Morton, also a solicitor. They lived on Capel Street. He went to a private school at Jervis Street, Dublin and matriculated at Trinity College Dublin in 1825, but did not proceed to a degree. He entered the King's Inns in 1830, and Gray's Inn in 1832. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1834, Queen's Counsel in 1844. He was equally successful at the Inner Bar.

Political and legal career Before entering Parliament for Longford he had stood unsuccessfully for Cavan in 1855. He was a Roman Catholic and could generally rely politically on the support of the Catholic hierarchy, although his support for the Ecclesiastical Titles Act, forbidding Roman Catholic bishops from naming episcopal sees after British cities or towns, offended some of his co-religionists.