Kenneth Sheils Reddin (born John Kenneth Sheils Reddin; 1895 – 17 August 1967) known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Kenneth Sarr, was an Irish author and judge.

Biography

Reddin was born in Dublin to John . J.and Annie Reddin. He attended

Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, and from 1910

Scoil Éanna St. Enda's School () was an Irish language secondary established in 1908 by Irish nationalist Patrick Pearse. Originally Pearse's school was established in 1908 at Cullenswood House, Ranelagh before moving to the Hermitage in Rathfarnham in 19 ...

, where

Thomas McDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...

and

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, Irish poetry, poet, writer, Irish nationalism, nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican political activist a ...

were formative influences. His first pseudonym was Kenneth Esser (from "Kenneth S. R.") later shortened to Kenneth Sarr.Feeney 1984 pp.252–253 He joined the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

and was interned after the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. Literary figures often met at J.J. Reddin's house and Kenneth was associated with the Irish Theatre Company in Hardwicke Street, where his brothers Kerry and Norman acted. He attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and qualified as a

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 ...

. He was a member of the United Arts Club and sometime President of the Irish

PEN Club PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internati ...

. He visited

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

in Paris several times, first with a gift of Olhausen's

black pudding Black pudding is a distinct national type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is made from pork or occasionally beef Blood as food, blood, with Lard, pork fat or Suet, beef suet, and a cereal, usually oatmeal, oat ...

, later at a PEN congress. Joyce, during his father's final illness, telegraphed Reddin's brother Dr Kerry Reddin about his treatment. Reddin supported the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

and his father's house in Artane was burned in the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. In 1922 he was appointed a

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

judge based in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

, later moving to the Newbridge and then Dublin districts. In court he wore what Terry De Valera called "his self-designed headdress like a black

biretta The biretta () is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Christian clergy, especially Catholic Church hierarchy, Roman Catholic clergy, as well as some ...

". As well as writing plays and novels, he collected humorous anecdotes from his judicial work intended for a book to be called ''Laughter in My Court''. In 1941 he objected to an article in PEN's magazine which he said was "propaganda, attacking the neutrality of Eire, and that all we wanted was to be left alone". In 1948,

Erina Brady Erina may refer to: * Erina (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Erina, New South Wales Erina () is a suburb located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Erina is the largest commercial hub of the Central Coast ...

appointed him President of her short-lived Dublin Dance Theatre Club. He retired from the bench on 19 March 1965. His papers are held by the

Kenneth Spencer Research Library The Kenneth Spencer Research Library is a library at the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence. Completed and dedicated in 1968, the library houses special collections materials including rare books, maps, archives, and photographs. The library ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

References

Sources

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarr, Kenneth 1895 births 1967 deaths Writers from Dublin (city) People from Mullingar 20th-century Irish judges 20th-century Irish lawyers Irish male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish novelists Irish revolutionaries Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at Clongowes Wood College People educated at Belvedere College Irish republicans interned without trial People educated at St. Enda's School