Garden Court Chambers mourns the loss of Professor Conor Gearty KC.
Conor was a shining light in civil liberties and human rights for decades through his work as a lawyer, as an educator, and as a thinker. An extraordinarily talented man who was both a superb writer and a virtuosic public speaker, he was as highly esteemed at the Bar as he was in academia.
Generations of Garden Court lawyers were taught by Conor at the London School of Economics (LSE) and went to see him speak there and elsewhere. Those who did heard a thoughtful, independent and acerbically witty man. Many experienced his kindness and support to junior academics and those aspiring to the Bar.
The work that Conor did as a founder member of Matrix Chambers, as Professor of human rights law at the LSE, and in his extensive academic writing, was of profound importance and will live long after him. As a Longford native, he was a trailblazer and inspiration for Irish lawyers trying to make it in London and a much-favoured speaker for the London Irish Lawyers Association.
The loss of such a brilliant man so unexpectedly is a terrible blow to the wider legal and human rights community. Garden Court Chambers mourns his loss and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and colleagues.
Ní bheidh a leithéad arís ann.
