Book Review

Lessons from the Bench: Memoir does justice to a life spent in Irish courts

She blazed a trail for women in a man’s world and although she had a reputation for fairness, Judge Gillian Hussey wasn’t afraid to mete out prison sentences when necessary

‘You will make mistakes as you learn, and you must apologise for them’ – Judge Gillian Hussey

As a young person, Gillian Hussey had a life plan: “A degree in music, A BMus, followed by recitals, concerts and perhaps teaching later on.” That she would go on to become one of Ireland’s first female judges, crossing paths with some of the country’s most notorious criminals, might have seemed unlikely, were it not for an over-prescriptive doctor.

“There’s no money in that. Do law,” he told Hussey and her mother, who, for reasons ...