His first term as Chancellor was also notable for his continual clashes with the other judge of appeal, Jonathan Christian, a bitter-tongued man with a deep contempt for most of his judicial colleagues, including O'Hagan, who he regarded as lazy and unqualified.

Christian even published a letter in The Times attacking O'Hagan and his highly regarded Scottish colleague Lord Blackburn, who had voted to reverse one of his judgments.

On his retirement from office Lord O'Hagan was in 1882 appointed a Knight of St Patrick, having become Vice Chancellor of the Royal University of Ireland the previous year.

They had two sons, Thomas and Maurice, each of whom in turn inherited the title and changed the family name to Towneley-O'Hagan, and two daughters, Kathleen (who lived to be almost 100) and Mary, who married General Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet.

Alice inherited the family home, Towneley Park, from her father, but found it too expensive to keep up and sold it to Burnley Corporation in 1901.

[6] Lord O'Hagan died at Hereford House, London, in February 1885, aged 72, and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.