Sir Robert Romney Kane,
Bt (28 October 1842 – 26 March 1902) was an Irish
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 legal writer. He wrote also on Irish history.
Life
Born at Gracefield,
Blackrock, Dublin
Blackrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. It is named after the local geological rock formation to be found in the area of Blackrock Park. In the late 18th century, the Blackrock Ro ...
, on 28 October 1842, he was eldest son of Sir
Robert Kane; his mother,
Katherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
, daughter of Henry Baily of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
and niece of
Francis Baily
Francis Baily (28 April 177430 August 1844) was an English astronomer. He is most famous for his observations of " Baily's beads" during a total eclipse of the Sun. Baily was also a major figure in the early history of the Royal Astronomical S ...
, wrote an ''Irish Flora''. After attending Dr. Quinn's private school in Harcourt Street, Kane passed to
Queen's College, Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
, where he graduated M.A. in 1862 (and later received in 1882 the honorary degree of LL.D.)
Becoming a member of
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 ...
, Kane studied law in London in the chambers of an eminent conveyancing lawyer, W. H. G. Bagshawe, and in 1865 he graduated LL.B. with honours in
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
.
Called to the Irish bar the same year, he went the Munster circuit and built up a good practice. In 1873 he was appointed professor of equity, jurisprudence, and international law 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 ...
; and, acquiring the reputation of an authority on Irish land legislation, he was in 1881 appointed a legal assistant commissioner under the
Land Law Act of that year. He retained that post till 1892, when he was made county court judge for the united counties of Kildare, Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow.
After some years of poor health, Kane died at his residence, 4 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, on 26 March 1902. He was a member 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 ...
, a fellow of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is an Irish learned society whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquities, langua ...
, for many years one of the two honorary secretaries of the
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...
, and a trustee of the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...
.
Works
Kane collaborated with Francis Nolan Q.C. in a treatise on the ''Statute Law of Landlord and Tenant in Ireland'' (1892). He edited ''Lectures on Irish History'', by his friend
Alexander George Richey, published in 1887 as ''A Short History of the Irish People''.
Family
Kane married on 29 December 1875 Ellinor Louisa, second daughter of David Coffey, taxing master in chancery, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. The elder son, Harold, lieutenant in the 1st battalion of the
South Lancashire regiment
The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958.
The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...
, fell in the
Second 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 and ...
while fighting on the summit of
Mount Itala on 26 September 1901.
His second son was killed in action in the final weeks of the First World War commanding the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers.
References
External links
* http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/285017/KANE,%20ROBERT%20ROMNEY%20GODRED
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Robert Romney
1842 births
1902 deaths
Irish barristers
Irish legal writers
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
19th-century Irish historians
Lawyers from Dublin (city)