Tristram Edward Kennedy (27June 180520November 1885) was an IrishLiberal, Whig and
Independent Irish Party
The Independent Irish Party (IIP) was the designation chosen by the 48 Members of the United Kingdom Parliament returned from Ireland with the endorsement of the Tenant Right League in the 1852 general election. The League had secured their ...
politician, and lawyer.
Family
Born at Inishowen,
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, Kennedy was the twelfth child of
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
clergyman John Pitt Kennedy and Mary Cary, daughter of Thomas Cary. In 1862, he married Sarah Helen Margaret Graham, daughter of George Templar Graham and Frances Margaret Golightly, and together they had seven children:
* Horace Graham Kennedy (born 1863)
* George Portalés (died as an infant)
* Tristram Edward Whiteside Kennedy (born 1866)
* Pitt Shadwell Portalés Kennedy (1868–1911)
* Francis Malcolm Evory Kennedy (born 1869), an officer in the
Worcestershire Regiment
The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment ...
* Theodora (died as an infant)
* Caroline Mary Dorothea Kennedy (born 1880)
Legal career
He was educated at Derry Free Grammar School, becoming an attorney and then, in 1828, High Sheriff of Londonderry City. In that role, he chaired a lengthy and controversial debate between Protestant and Catholic clergyman, winning admiration from both sides. However, in 1829, he was struck off the roll of attorneys, and entered Lincoln's Inn and
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 ...
in Dublin, before being called to the
bar of Ireland
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 1834, aiming to improve legal education standards.
In doing this, he opened the Dublin Law Institute in 1839, starting the education of a subject not taught systematically in Ireland for at least 200 years. This campaign to reform legal education was widely supported, and helped by
Waterford City
Waterford ( ) is a city in County Waterford in the south-east of Ireland. It is located within the province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour. It is the oldestThomas Wyse. It was also said to stimulate the academic study of English law at British and Irish universities, sped up the introduction of qualifications, and pointed out ideological rationale at the time that attorneys must attend English law inns before being able to practice on the Irish Bar.
In 1846, the House of Commons select committee on legal education, chaired by Wyse, produced a report on legal education, influencing the future of both English and Irish legal education.
However, this law school entered troubled times and collapsed in 1845, leading to Kennedy shortly after ending his legal career and becoming a land agent on the 13,500-tenant Bath estates in
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...
, where he "sternly refused to adopt any of the cruel remedies applied in other quarters" during the Great Famine, and allowed tenants to run great arrears. Fewer than one in four tenants were able to read and write, leading Kennedy to establish seven new national schools. This work, and his initiation of the Carrickmacross lace industry, is largely credited to his later election to Parliament.
Political career
He was elected MP for
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
as a Whig candidate in 1852 before joining the Independent Irish Party just after the election. Whilst in Parliament, he contributed primarily to debates on landlord and tenant matters, or national and industrial education. Standing in this capacity in 1857, he lost the seat. At the 1859 general election, he stood as a Liberal for King's County, but ended at the bottom of the poll.
He was re-elected as a Liberal candidate at a by-election in 1865 and held the seat until he stood down in
1868
Events
January
* January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.
* January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...
, after a sectarian campaign waged by Matthew Dease, the successful Liberal candidate. In
1874
Events
January
* January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx.
* January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time.
* January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...
, Kennedy stood for election in Donegal, but was unsuccessful.
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
to inspect responses to poverty in that country and then, in 1855 with W. K. Sullivan, publishing a booklet on industrial training. He later, in 1877 and 1878, published two tracts on the reform of law and legal education.
Kennedy died in 1885 at his home, Charleville, The Shrubbery,
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
,
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...