He died peacefully on Saturday following a short illness, The Irish Times reports. Funeral arrangements have not yet been publicised.

A graduate of University College Dublin, Mr Justice Finnegan qualified as a solicitor in 1966 and as a barrister in 1978. He became a senior counsel in 1990.

He was appointed to the High Court in 1991 and as president of the court in 2001, a position he held until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 2006.

He retired from the bench in 2012 and subsequently maintained a mediation practice.