Caesar Litton Falkiner (26 September 1863 – 5 August 1908) was an

Irish Unionist Party The Irish Unionist Alliance (IUA), also known as the Irish Unionist Party, Irish Unionists or simply the Unionists, was a unionist political party founded in Ireland in 1891 from a merger of the Irish Conservative Party and the Irish Loyal and ...

politician,

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 a writer on literary and historical topics.

Life

Falkiner was the second son of Sir Frederick Falkiner, who was subsequently the

Recorder of Dublin The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. Functions and duties of the Recorder The Recorder was the chief magistrate for Dublin, and heard a wide range of civil and criminal cases. The office existed by th ...

(1876 –1905.) He studied at the

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 ...

(BA) – where he was the President of the

University Philosophical Society The University Philosophical Society (UPS), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1683, it describes itself as the oldest student, collegial and paper-read ...

(1885–1886) – and at the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

, Dublin (prior to his call to the Bar in 1887.) He was an unsuccessful candidate in the South Armagh constituency at the

1892 United Kingdom general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more seat ...

. He appointed Assistant Legal Commissioner in the

Irish Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...

in 1897 and continued in that post until his death. He was also Secretary of the Council of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

. At the time of his death, Falkiner was preparing an edition of the letters of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

, a task which was taken up and completed (6 vols, 1910 – 1914) by F Elrington Ball. It appears that the edition of

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

's poetry which he was reportedly preparing for the

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

was never completed. ( Godley (1910) seems not to be a continuation of this work.) He was killed in an accident on 5 August 1908 while on a mountain-climbing holiday in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. In 1910 a memorial to him was erected in the south aisle of the nave of

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glen ...

, beside the bust commemorating W.E.H. Lecky. The memorial consists of a bronze bas relief portrait of Falkiner, on a marble ground, with an inscription. At the unveiling of this monument, his contemporary and friend Colonel Edward Macartney-Filgate spoke as follows:

Family

Falkiner had married on 4 August 1892 Henrietta Mary Deane, daughter of Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, with whom he had two daughters.

Works as author

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Works as editor

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Notes

References

* * * * * ''v-vi'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkiner, C Litton 20th-century Irish historians Irish antiquarians Irish Anglicans Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers Irish barristers Irish Unionist Party politicians 1908 deaths 1863 births