Arthur Warren Samuels (19 May 1852 – 11 May 1925) was an

Irish Unionist Unionism in Ireland is a political tradition that professes loyalty to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, crown of the United Kingdom and to the union it represents with England, Scotland and Wales. The overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Pro ...

Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom parliament and subsequently a judge. The Irish Unionists were the Irish wing of the Conservative Party.

Biography

He was born in

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The city, located on the main island of Saint Vincent, has the main port and the biggest commercial center of the islands. With a population of 12,909 (2012), K ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, second son of Arthur Samuels, a solicitor, and Katherine Daly, daughter of Owen Daly of Mornington, County Meath. He was educated at the Royal School Dungannon,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

. He attended

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, before being called to the Irish Bar in 1877. He became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC) in 1894 and was called to the English bar in 1896. Samuels was

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish ...

from 1917 to 1918, and

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...

from 1918 to 1919. He was also made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1918. He was MP for

Dublin University The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

from February 1917 to July 1919, having previously been defeated in a 1903 by-election for the same constituency. Samuels left the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

when he was appointed to the office of Justice of the

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

of the

High Court of Justice in Ireland The High Court of Justice in Ireland was the court created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 to replace the existing court structure in Ireland. Its creation mirrored the reform of the courts of England and Wales five years ...

in 1919, an office which he held until the court's abolition under the

Courts of Justice Act 1924 The Courts of Justice Act 1924 () was an Act of the Oireachtas (No. 10 of 1924) that established a new system of courts for the Irish Free State (now the 26 county only Republic of Ireland). Among the new courts was the Supreme Court of the I ...

. In common with most of the judges of the old regime, he was not appointed to the High Court established under the 1924 Act. He died a year later on 11 May 1925 in La Croix, France. Maurice Healy in ''The Old Munster Circuit'' praised his personal qualities, his erudition and his valuable book on the financial aspects of

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

; but as a Law officer and judge dismissed him as "undistinguished".

Family

He married Emma Margaret Irwin in 1881, daughter of the Reverend James Irwin of

Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...

. They had two children;

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and writer Arthur P. I. Samuels (1886–1916), and Dorothy Samuels (1892–1942). The younger Arthur was an authority on

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

and edited a collection of his correspondence and writings, which he had almost completed when his work was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He became a captain in the Royal Irish Rifles, and was killed on the Western Front in September 1916. His father completed his book on Burke, which was published in 1923. Young Arthur had married Dorothy Young of Milltown,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, in 1913. Samuels' daughter, Dorothy Helen Daly, served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as an ambulance driver with the American Ambulance Great Britain. She was killed by a German air raid during the Exeter Blitz on 4 May 1942. She had married Herbert James Daly but was widowed at the time of her death.

References

Sources

* ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Vol. III 1919–1945'', edited by M. Stenton & S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)

External links

*
Samuels' book on Home Rule Finance, 1912; online pdf
*Healy, Maurice ''The Old Munster Circuit'' Michael Joseph Ltd. London 1939. * *
Samuels' Collection of Printed Ephemera.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Arthur Warren 1852 births 1925 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dublin University Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Solicitors-general for Ireland Attorneys-general for Ireland Irish Conservative Party MPs Irish Unionist Party MPs UK MPs 1918–1922 Judges of the High Court of Justice in Ireland Politicians from Dún Laoghaire 19th-century King's Counsel Irish King's Counsel Teachtaí Dála for Dublin University Members of the 1st Dáil