Hugh Edward Kennedy (11 July 1879 – 1 December 1936) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician, barrister and judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1924 to 1936, a judge of the Supreme Court from 1924 to 1936 and Attorney General of Ireland from 1922 to 1924.

Teachta Dála

He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency from 1923 to 1924. As a member of the Irish Free State Constitution Commission, he was also one of the constitutional architects of the Irish Free State.

Kennedy was born in Dublin in 1879.

He was the son of the surgeon Hugh Boyle Kennedy and Mary Kate Kennedy (née Kennedy; not related), from County Tipperary.

His younger sister was the journalist Mary Olivia Kennedy. He studied for the examinations of the Royal University while a student at University College Dublin and King’s Inns, Dublin, and was called to the Bar in 1902. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1920 and became a Bencher of King’s Inn in 1922.