Charles Robert Barry QC, PC (3 January 1823 – 15 May 1897) was an Irish politician and lawyer who rose to become a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Legal and judicial career

He was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, a son of James Barry,

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, and educated at Dalton's School, Limerick,

Midleton College Midleton College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. In past centuries it has also been called Midleton School. Although founded in 1696, the school did not open until 1717. It went thr ...

, County Cork, and

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 ...

, and admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. Barry was admitted to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1848 and was appointed

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 ...

in 1859. He was Member of Parliament for

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

from 1865 to 1868, He was appointed Law Adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1865, and was made Third

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not us ...

in 1866. He served as

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 1868 to 1870, and as such prosecuted the Fenians in 1868. From 1870 to 1872 he was

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 ...

. In 1872 Barry was appointed a Justice of the

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in ...

and from 1883 to 1897 served as Lord Justice of the

Irish Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal in Ireland was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 as the final appellate court within Ireland, then under British rule. A l ...

. Elrington Ball attributed his rise not only to his extraordinary legal ability, but also his immense personal popularity.

Personal life

Barry married Kate, daughter of David and Catherine Fitzgerald of Dublin and sister of

John David Fitzgerald John David FitzGerald, Baron FitzGerald, PC, PC (Ire) (1 May 1816 – 16 October 1889) was an Irish judge and Liberal politician. Background Born in Dublin, he was the son of the merchant David FitzGerald and his wife Catherine, eldest da ...

, who became MP for

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

and also a Justice of the

and later a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

. Sources are contradictory as to their children; some report only one son, Charles junior; others report another son, James David Barry. According to Thom's Directory, James David Barry J.P., was a soldier who served with the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

and was Aide-de-camp to Lords-Lieutenant of Ireland. Having been decorated for his service in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, he embarked with 1st Expeditionary Force in August 1914 with the rank of Major. His wife Florence was the daughter of the 4th

Baron Clanmorris Baron Clanmorris, of Newbrook in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 6 August 1800 for John Bingham, 1st Baron Clanmorris, John Bingham. He was a descendant of John Bingham of Foxford in County Mayo, whose ...

. The Major and his wife are buried at St Mary's church,

Clonsilla Clonsilla () is a northwestern suburb of Dublin in Fingal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Clonsilla (civil parish), Clonsilla is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Castleknock (barony), Castleknock ...

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which ...

. Kate's sister Emily married Denis Caulfield Heron, who like Barry held office as both Law Adviser to the Lord Lieutenant and Serjeant-at-law.Professor Liam O'Malley, School of Law, National University of Ireland
Law
, pages 39, 45

Notes

References

New York Times 16 June 1897 *Anthony David Edwards
The role of international exhibitions in Britain, 1850-1910
from Google Books

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Charles Robert 1823 births 1897 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Waterford constituencies (1801–1922) Solicitors-general for Ireland Attorneys-general for Ireland Lords Justice of Appeal for Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland UK MPs 1865–1868 Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Lincoln's Inn Judges of the High Court of Justice in Ireland Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 19th-century Irish judges 19th-century Irish lawyers Irish King's Counsel People educated at Midleton College