Month: November 2021

Called to the Bar, June 1914

From the Irish Independent, 11 June 1914:

A grainier version of the above photo appears in the Freeman’s Journal of the same day, where the new barristers above are identified as Frederick Jerome Dempsey, Edward James Smyth, Samuel Spedding John, Thomas William Gillilan Johnson Hughes, Denis Bernard Kelly, Oliver L Moriarty, John Maher Loughnan, Isaac Roundtree, Ion George Wakely, Bernard Joshua Fox, John Henry de Burgh Shaw, Frederick William Callaghan, John McMahon, Edward Patrick McCarron, James Arthur Hill Waters, Walter Oakman Hume, Martin Arthur Lillie, Andrew Picken, Joseph Alphonsus Reddy and Henry Jerome Carvill.

Let’s take their subsequent life stories in the order in which their names appear above.

Frederick Jerome Dempsey was the second son of gynaecologist Sir Alexander Dempsey MD, Belfast. Fred practised as a barrister in Belfast for a few years before qualifying as a doctor in 1925. He died following a chill in 1938 at the the young age of 43. At the time of his death, he was assistant inspecting medical officer at the Children’s Clinic, Belfast. Kevin R O’Sheil BL, in a statement given by him to the Bureau of Military History, describes Dempsey as a nationalist in politics, and, through his father, a distinguished doctor, a steadfast supporter of the official Irish Parliamentary Party, though he held independent views and was highly critical of that party.

Edward James Smyth became President of the Castleknock College Union in 1937. It is unclear whether he worked as a barrister, a civil servant or both. In 1932 he was appointed to chair a public inquiry into the removal of foreshore from Greystones harbour. He died in 1941.

Samuel Spedding John joined the 9th Battalion Cheshire Regiment in Autumn 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War. In November 1915 he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry during fighting the previous September. After a retirement to the trenches had been ordered, Second Lieutenant John crawled out under heavy fire and assisted to bring in, in succession, a wounded officer and about twenty men of another regiment, thus saving many lives. According to the Wicklow Newsletter (Lt. John was from Bray) this was not the first time he had shown conspicuous bravery The report in the Newsletter included a letter from Lt. John’s sergeant to his family saying that if he asked of his men for their right hand they would give it and that they would follow him to certain death if needs be. Fortunately this did not become necessary as Lt. John survived the war, again being mentioned in despatches in 1915 and 1919 for gallant and distinguished service. He retired as an acting captain and appears to have subsequently become a judge in Cyprus.

Lt. Spedding John on the occasion of his call to the Bar, via South Dublin Libraries

Thomas William Gillilan Johnson Hughes, from a wealthy landowning family in Craigavad, County Down, enlisted in the Dublin Fusiliers in 1915 and subsequently served in the North Irish Horse, where he was mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshal Earl Haig and ended the war as a major. In 1939, Major Hughes featured as defendant in a road negligence case when two of his hunting horses collided with a car; damages of £5.17s were awarded against him.

Major Hughes at the 1938 Annual Reunion of the North Irish Horse, via North Irish Horse

Denis Bernard Kelly, from Killarney, went on to practice on the Munster Circuit for a number of years. He went on to become a District Justice. He died in 1969.

Oliver Moriarty, son of David Moriarty, Clerk of Crown and Peace for Kerry, served with the 2nd Munster Regiment during the War when he was seriously wounded by explosives at the battle of Loos. In April 1919 he was appointed Judge under the Egyptian Government in Cairo. He returned to Ireland in 1927 and resumed practice. The newspapers contain many reports of cases in which he was involved and he also appeared in two cases reported in the Irish Jurist Reports, one of them being a matrimonial case with Averil Deverell BL as opposing Junior. When he took silk in 1940, Mr Moriarty had the pleasant experience of being, in the one day, congratulated in three different courts by three different High Court judges, Mr Justice Hanna, Mr Justice Gavan Duffy and Mr Justice Black. He continued to maintain his busy practice as a Senior Counsel. Mr Moriarty died in 1953.

John Maher Loughnan had extensive previous experience in the hospitality industry, having taken over the Royal Victoria Hotel, Killarney, after the death of his aunt in 1903. By 1914, he had turned it into one of the most modern hotels in Ireland with a residents’ lounge, internal telephone and electricity. During this period he also visited a number of American cities to promote Killarney and Kerry as tourist destinations. He also served as chairperson of Killarney UDC. Unfortunately, the business did not flourish during the war and in 1920 he and his family were evicted by secured creditors. He went on enjoy a flourishing practice as an estate agent in Cork. Mr Maher Loughnan’s portrait was presented to Killarney UDC by his family in 2003.

Photograph from the Kerryman of the family of John Maher Loughnan presenting his portrait to Killarney Urban District Council in April 2003

Isaac Roundtree was a former auditor of the Trinity College Historical Society who briefly practised as a barrister before deciding to devote himself entirely to farming. In the 1920s he sued the head of a cattle owners’ association for assault committed on him due to his refusal to participate in the loading of cattle during the Dublin Dockers’ strike. His obituary in 1959 described him as a very successful farmer and a very good and charitable man who did good by stealth. It also expressed the view that had Mr Roundtree not opted for the call of the land over the call of the law he would almost certainly have had a very successful legal career in view of his outstanding academic achievements.

Ion George Wakely, was the son of solicitor William George Wakely, who acted as Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society for over 50 years between 1888 and 1943. He served as Captain in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the war, suffering facial disfigurement and lumbago as a result. He was also awarded the Military Cross. Captain Wakely subsequently became a Resident Magistrate in Jamaica before being tragically killed in a motor accident in 1943, the same year as his father’s death.

John Henry de Burgh Shaw served as a tank commander in the First World War before being appointed a District Commissioner in Sierra Leone in 1921. His father John Shaw of Cloncallow House, Co Longford, had previously been acting governor of Lagos.

Bernard J Fox, a former auditor of the Law Students’ Debating Society, achieved top marks in his final Bar exam after winning many medals for oratory. One of his early cases was a matrimonial assault claim in which he defended a soldier suffering from shellshock. Like Walter Oakman Hume (below) Mr Fox opted to join the Northern Irish Bar and subsequently became a KC and Recorder of Belfast. His final appearance in the news was in 1968 when, as the octogenarian president of Fortwilliam Golf Club, he assisted the club in defeating an application for a development of nearby land which, had it gone through, would have resulted in 338 houses, six shops and a primary school, thereby inevitably stymieing the club’s activities. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, 25 July 1968, Mr Fox, in high spirits, remarked that he still had some knowledge of the law and had had plenty of experience ‘in the rough’ during his 42 years as a paying member of the Club. The headline inevitably commended the former judge’s ‘drive.’

Judge Fox, in a photograph accompanying the 1968 Belfast Telegraph interview

Frederick William Callaghan died in Bristol, England in 1942, after a long illness. His obituary describes him as a barrister but it is not clear whether he ever practised in either Ireland or England.

John McMahon was a clerk in the Land Commission when called to the Bar, subsequently being appointed Higher Executive Officer in 1921. In 1929, he brought a claim for compensation under Article 10 of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Civil Service (Transferred Officers) Act 1929. Born in the 1870s, he was somewhat older than the other barristers, who presented him with a solid silver cigarette case at a dinner in the Gresham Hotel the week of the call as a souvenir of their regard and gratitude for the many kindnesses received from him. One suspects he may have provided assistance with property law queries! Also present at the dinner were Richard Armstrong, the Under-Treasurer of the King’s Inns, its legal professors Anthony B Babington and Robert Megaw, and law examiners John M Whitaker and C Norman Keogh.

Edward Patrick McCarron was a Local Government auditor and subsequently became Secretary to the Department of Local Government and Public Health.

Mr McCarron, from the Irish Independent, 11 September 1925

James Arthur Hill Waters founded the 8th South County Scout group now known as 3rd Dublin Stillorgan, one of the oldest scout groups in Ireland. He was a lieutenant and subsequently a major in the Royal Army Service Corps. He lived at Callary, Dundrum and lost a son, Samuel, in the Second World War. There are references to him as being a civil servant in the Taxing Office in the Four Courts, and also as being a KC. I am not sure which is correct. Perhaps it was possible for Taxing Officers to take silk? He was a well-known motorcyclist both before and after the First World War. Major Waters died in 1965.

Walter Oakman Hume, from a legal family, practised on the North East Circuit and subsequently became a member of the Northern Irish Bar, taking silk in 1933 before dying in 1939 at the young age of 48. His obituary described him as an authority on land law with an extraordinary knowledge of caselaw. He was also a talented golfer who survived to the last eight in the Irish Open of 1921.

Martin Arthur Lillis, the youngest son of the managing director of the Munster and Leinster Bank, joined the Royal Flying Corps and was killed in April 1917.

Martin Arthur Lillis, as depicted on a memorial scroll issued to his family, via Whytes

Andrew Picken became Secretary of Queen’s University Belfast. When he died in 1938, after a long illness, its flags were flown at half mast in his memory. A brilliant classics scholar and ardent cricketer, he also served as a despatch rider during the First World War.

Andrew Picken, as published in the Belfast News-Letter, 23 December 1938

Joseph Alphonsus Reddy practised at the Irish Bar and enjoyed an extensive practice in Dublin, but died suddenly in 1929.

Henry John Carvill served in the South Irish Horse during the War. He was living in Chelsea, London, in 1920, when he gave evidence for the prosecution in an attempted fraud case (Carvill did not fall for the fraud – the newspaper headline was ‘Barrister did not Bite’). In 1922, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales. He died in 1955.

Two Military Crosses, three colonial judges, one Northern Irish judge, one Irish District Justice, one Irish KC, two Northern Irish KCs, one wartime death, many, many early deaths! The barristers of 1914 were certainly an unlucky bunch from the start – what could be worse than a world war breaking out between your call and the start of your devilling year – but, given how young they all look in the above photograph, it’s shocking to think that more than half of them were already dead within thirty years of its being taken!

These are the very first group of Irish barristers to appear in the newspaper on their call. Did the barristers of 1915 live longer? Find out soon!

The Mysterious Folding Doors of the Supreme Court, 1937-73

From the Evening Echo, 8 January 1973, this wonderful article about the Irish Supreme Court and its former Chief Justices:

“For a whole decade – 1923-1932 – the Four Courts building was not in use and the Courts sat in the room in Dublin Castle which now comprise the State Apartments.

When the repaired Four Courts were opened the Supreme Court looked elegant as befitted the highest tribunal in the land. Directly opposite the Bench, in line with the approach from the Quay through the Round Hall, stood a pair of wide folding doors.

While ample access was available from the side-doors of the Courtroom, the purpose of the folding doors was an enigma, and the rumour spread that they would be used only for the ceremonial entry of any new Chief Justice.

Time passed, and no one asked questions when seats were placed in such a way as to prevent the Doors from opening, and to this day the mystery has remained unsolved.

Too soon a testing time came. In December 1936, during the Edward VII-Mrs Simpson debacle, a bell was rung in the Law Library and all listened to the announcement: ‘The Chief Justice will not sit tomorrow”.

“Has he abdicated too?” asked one of the members. It was an unconsciously grim jest, for the Hon. Hugh Kennedy, Chief Justice, died unexpectedly next day.

Son of a Dublin surgeon, Hugh Kennedy had given his undoubted skill to the formative events of the State – the Treaty negotiations, the drafting of the 1922 Constitution, and the setting up of the new judicial system. From the post of Attorney-General he became the first Chief Justice of the Irish Free State. Apart from law, he used his talents for the cultural advancement of his native city and country. An indefatigable worker, ‘Who’s Who’ gave as his recreation – ‘change of work’.

Tireless in research, he sometimes reserved judgment for an inordinately long time. In the matter of the Erasmus Smith trusts, the humorous lawyers suggested that perhaps he had been given it to the ‘missing postman’ [Larry Griffin, who mysteriously disappeared at Stradbally, Co Waterford, on Christmas Day 1929] to deliver. The Chief died without giving the judgment.

Kennedy CJ was followed by the Hon Timothy Sullivan, who was elevated from the post of President of the High Court – but not through the mystery Doors. A first class lawyer, his appointment was universally approved, but the formative days of the State and its judicial system were over and the spectacular events of the ’20s and early ’30s seemed not to be destined for repetition.

Mr Justice O’Sullivan was one of a group known as the ‘Bantry Band,’ who had graced the Forum and the House of Commons over a long period. We are a cynical race and apt to attribute something other than, or in addition to, ability as a cause of some promotions. One who asked whether Timothy Sullivan had a patriotic career was met with another question – did not his father write ‘God Save Ireland?‘

Again, on the retirement of Sullivan CJ by reason of ill-health, the President of the High Court passed – not through the Doors, to the highest judicial chair. The Hon. Mr Justice Conor A Maguire came from Mayo. Again, a very deserving and popular choice.

Dublin’s turn arrived again with the Hon. Mr Justice Carroll O’Daly, another distinguished lawyer and patron of the arts. We now pass him over to do us credit in the tribunals of Europe.

Now it’s Cork again, with the well-deserved appointment of the Hon Mr Justice William O’Brien Fitzgerald. If the Doors were ever to have opened they should have been open by now. We have come to accept them as a myth.

A Chief Justice presides at the hearings of the Supreme Court and his abilities must not be confined to legal knowledge and experience. He must, in addition, be a competent chairman or an advocate conducting an appeal might be pressed with questions from the whole Court of five judges simultaneously, and chaos might ensue.

Munster, Connacht and Leinster have given us Chief Justices. Ulster has provided capable Supreme Court Judges, but we must wait another day for a legal Cuchulain to be given the highest chair.”

It took time, but as of October 2021 Ireland now has a Chief Justice from Ulster! The above photograph from UCD Digital Library shows the layout of the Supreme Court in 1937 including the magnificent walnut canopy, constructed by G & T Crampton, which remains in place to this day. The notorious doors lie out of picture behind the photographer.

The decision to locate the Supreme Court just behind the Round Hall is an interesting one. Its curtilage originally formed part of a large room called the Chancery Chamber, which was initially used for general purposes, including early Bar meetings, and later broken up into Nisi Prius and Rolls Courts with the first Law Library (1830s-1897) constructed above. The shades of long-dead barristers and the solicitors who waited on them may well hover somewhere in the upper airspace of today’s court, commenting critically and humorously on the goings-on below. The first Law Library was such a merry place that they could surely be nothing other than benevolent!

The author of the above article, named as John R Coghlan, may have been District Judge John R Coghlan, who holds a unique place in the Irish judiciary to this day by reason of his membership of the Plymouth Brethren. A 1982 obituary in the Munster Express describes Judge Coghlan as ‘a god-fearing gentleman and perhaps too merciful at times.’ If he was in fact the author of this piece, we owe him a debt of gratitude for sharing such wonderful information in such good spirit!

Aristocratic Insolence in the Dublin Police Court, 1830

Rutland Square, Dublin, c.1817, by William Frederick Brocas, via Mutual Art

From the Freeman’s Journal, 26 May 1830:

“DUBLIN POLICE

ARISTOCRATICAL INSOLENCE

‘A chiel’s amang ye takin notes

And faith he’ll prent it.’

Robert Burns

HENRY-STREET POLICE OFFICE, MONDAY.

Lord Langford attended before Mr Cole, the sitting magistrate at this office, to substantiate a complaint which he had previously preferred against James Carroll, a servant recently in his Lordship’s employment.

It appeared that Carroll had been for fifteen months in Lord Langford’s service; that he had lately a quarrel with a fellow servant, which induced his Lordship to send him to the watch-house, and had him afterwards committed for disorderly conduct; that Carroll then processed his Lordship for wages which he alleged was due him, but his claim being dismissed in his absence, he could not be convinced of the justice of the decision, and meeting his Lordship near his residence in Rutland-square, he craved his wages.  At that moment Lady Langford was coming up to enter her carriage, then at the door when, horror-struck at the sight of her old servant, she ran back and fainted the instant she reached a sofa in the drawing room – and continued fainting every ten minutes for an hour.  His Lordship then, with those affectionate connubial sensations which are not always inseparable from the ‘higher walks of life,’ and highly irritated at the thought of his Lady’s indisposition, immediately proceeded to Henry Street Office, where peace informations were taken and a warrant issued for the apprehension of Carroll, who attended this day, with his attorney, to answer the charge against him.

During the investigation, Lord Langford frequently, and in a very unbecoming way, interrupted the respectable professional gentleman (Mr W Wilkins) concerned for the accused; indeed, throughout, his conduct was very arrogant and overbearing.

Mr Wilkins (attorney) to Mr Cole – ‘The informations as tendered by his Lordship to bind the man to keep the peace, are not in themselves sufficient – inasmuch as he said he apprehended danger from Carroll, without assigning any reason therein by any act or deed of the man; and if such informations had been tendered to his Lordship as a magistrate, in a case where he was not a party himself, I am satisfied that he would consider them insufficient to hold the party to bail.

Lord Langford – ‘You have no right to make any observations about what I would do were I similarly circumstanced, and I don’t see what right you have to interfere at all.  It is extremely improper to defend this man in any way.’

Mr Cole – ‘The gentleman is but doing his duty.  He is conducting himself with extreme temper, prudence and moderation, and he has no right to castigation here.’

Lord Langford –‘He has no right, then, to draw inferences from what I have sworn.’

Mr Cole – ‘He has every right to draw what inferences he pleases.  If other people would conduct themselves with the good temper and forbearance he has manifested on this occasion, we would be able to get through the business of the office with some facility and-‘

Lord Langford – ‘Stop, Sir! – Are you aware there’s a reporter in the room.  There is a man here taking notes.’

The Reporter of the Freeman – ‘There is a gentleman here taking notes – who knows how to conduct himself as becomes one – and whose situation is that of a gentleman.’

Mr Cole – ‘I don’t care who is in the room.  If there is a reporter present, he, of course, knows his duty.  I make no objection to any person coming to this office; and if people don’t say any thing they are afraid or ashamed of, they need not dread a reporter.’

His Lordship, though previously expressing himself in very vindictive terms regarding Carroll – who was directed to find bail to keep the peace towards his Lordship and Lady – now became very merciful, and signified his wish that the man should be discharged.

The mild and gentlemanly behaviour of the worthy magistrate strongly contrasted with that of Lord Langford – who should frequently attend there, if for no other purpose than to improve himself by association with that gentleman.”

Why was Lady Langford so upset by the unexpected appearance of her old servant, and why was Lord Langford so keen to take steps against him but at the same time anxious that those steps not be reported?

The answer may lie in subsequent proceedings brought in the English Court of King’s Bench in 1836, in which Lord Langford sued a young gentleman called Barrett, who had entered his family as a tutor, for criminal conversation with the Lady referred to above.  Evidence was given that Mr Barrett and Lady Langford often went between one another’s rooms in their dressing-gowns, when Lord Langford was away in London; Barrett’s bedroom door was often locked when Lady Langford was in the room with him, on one occasion he was heard say that she had beaten him, and torn the hair off his head, and she was heard saying to him, when the door was locked, ‘You may scream, the door is locked and no one can get in.’

Following evidence that Lord Langford had been guilty of repeated acts of adultery with other women, had drawn Barrett’s attention to the beautiful hair of his wife, had desired Barrett to amuse her as well as he was able, and to this end had brought Byron’s ‘Don Juan’ home for him to read to her, the jury awarded him nominal damages of one shilling. 

Lord Langford’s death in 1839 did not stop him making a posthumous appearance in the Irish courts a few years later, when a will, allegedly made by him in favour of Mrs Anna Maria Bennett Little, was challenged by his son and heir.  It transpired that Lord Langford had kept Mrs Little for many years in a house in Baggot Street.  There is no report of the final hearing of these proceedings, and it is possible that they were settled.   A legal dispute regarding another will made in favour of the same Mrs Little by John Stanislaus Comyn of Galway, dragged on for a further thirty years until the will was eventually held to be a a forgery in 1863.

Clearly there were a lot of domestic issues in the Langford household, and indeed similarly troubled Langford descendants were to keep Irish and English matrimonial lawyers busy for decades to come! I wonder was Mr Carroll a predecessor of the unfortunate Mr Barrett? If so, it might explain a lot about Lord Langford’s strange behaviour in the proceedings before Mr Cole.

The moral of the story? Several! Those who fear reporting often have something to hide; sometimes our so-called ‘betters’ are no better than they should be; and the vital importance of a bench, bar and press unafraid to speak truth to power when the rights of ordinary citizens are at stake!

Good old Mr Cole!

As It Was: Images of 145-151 Church Street, 1860 to date

This beautifully coloured image below, from Dublin City Digital Archive, shows the rear portion of the Law Library Distillery Building, 145-151 Church Street, when it really was a distillery, owned by John Jameson & Co. You can zoom in on it even more closely here.

Jameson acquired the site 145-51 Church Street in 1911 and almost immediately demolished a considerable portion of the existing buildings on the site. The Distillery was then extended onto most of the now-vacant site.

Sadly, the demolition was not without tragedy, when a Mr Henry Bambrick, engaged to keep passers-by away from the vicinity of the works, was himself killed by one of the buildings falling on him. A subsequent inquest was highly critical of the way in which the demolition works had been conducted.

The above image gives a wonderful view of New Church Street and Bow Street, and the pipe across the latter connecting the two portions of the Distillery.

The image doesn’t show the front portion of 145-151 Church Street, but you can see this area as it looked pre-Law Library below. The photograph is by William Mooney and also from the Dublin City Digital Archive. A more detailed zoom facility is available here.

That’s the Capuchin church again in the background. This is a replacement of an earlier church, demolished in 1868. A photograph of Church Street showing this earlier church, which was located much closer to the street than the current church may be seen below.

You will see above the former 145 Church Street peeking shyly into the left foreground. 145 and its neighbours were typical of the houses on Church Street, consisting of two storeys above a ground floor shop premises, often selling second-hand clothes – 19th century Church Street was not a luxury shopping area!

There are many versions of this 1860 photograph available online but by far the best, offering a minutely detailed zoom facility, is to be found here in the digital collection of the Catholic Archives. Viewing it is like going back in time! The smart young friars on the left hand side of the street could as easily be the smart young juniors of today…

Dublin Solicitor Helps Couple Elope, Sends Them Bill of Costs, 1905

From the Dublin Daily Express, 8 December 1905:

“SOLICITOR’S BILL OF COSTS

In the King’s Bench Division yesterday, before Mr Justice Boyd, in the case of Hehir v Kelly and another, Mr Carrigan (instructed by Mr Edward McHugh) applied on behalf of the defendants, Denis Kelly and Mary Kelly, otherwise Molloy, residing in the City of Dublin, for an order that all future proceedings in the action should be stayed pending the taxation of the costs by the taxing officer, pursuant to a requisition signed by the defendants at the instance of the plaintiff, dated 8th November last.

Mr Carrigan BL stated that the bill of costs submitted by Mr Hehir, solicitor, was of a most extraordinary character, and it was in reality for the conducting of an elopement between the two defendants. The following were some of the items included in it:-

-Attending Dr Kelly when he said he had no boots, and attending him at Clery’s and buying him two pairs of boots, 6s.8d.

-Attending Dr Kelly as to his marriage with Miss Molloy, 6s.8d.

-Attending Dr Kelly and Miss Molloy at the Pro-Cathedral to make arrangements at to his marriage when, at the last moment, the clergyman refused to marry them, 6s.8d.

-Attending them at the North Wall, as they feared that Miss Molloy’s friends would interfere with their flights (laughter). “Dr Kelly informed me,” it was stated in the account, “informed me that he had no overcoat, and asked me for the loan of one, which I lent him accordingly. Dr and Mrs Kelly pressed me to go to Liverpool with them, fearing legal difficulties.”

-Attending Dr Kelly when he said he was short of money, and we agreed to pawn our watches.

-Attending him at the pawn office when 15s was advanced on mine, but they would advance nothing on Dr Kelly’s (laughter).

-Attending at the Registry Office witnessing the marriage (laughter).

Mr Dudley White BL (instructed by Mr Hehir) opposed the application on behalf of the Plaintiff.

Mr Justice Boyd, who had joined in the laughter, made no rule on the motion as to the trial. He directed the costs to be taxed at the amount when ascertained to be paid by the defendant, and the costs of the motion to be costs in the cause.”

The solicitor in the case, James Hehir, had a thriving practice on the Dublin and Eastern Circuit with offices at 4 Cavendish Row Dublin and 4 Trimgate Street, Navan, and was noteworthy for having been awarded a special certificate for distinguished answering on the occasion of his Final Examination in the Law Society.

This did not stop Mr Hehir ending up in the news again in August 1907, when he was summoned before the Southern Police Court for using offensive language and assaulting a tram inspector in a tramcar on the Rock Road earlier that month, when he refused to pay his fare while travelling between Blackrock and Nelson’s Pillar.

According to Conductor William Murphy, the defendant boarded his car at Bath Place, Blackrock, and when asked for his fare, showed two 3d tickets punched from Sackville Street to Blackrock, saying “These are returns; I have paid my fare, and I won’t pay again.” When told that he should pay or he would be removed, the defendant said “Don’t talk to me like that, or I’ll smash your face,” refused to give his name and address, and called the inspector a ‘pup’ and a ‘cur’.

In response to questioning, Mr Murphy confirmed that the defendant was sober at the time, to which Mr Swifte, magistrate, imposing a fine of 10s for using offensive language, remarked that he had apparently taken a ‘cross drop’ that day.

Mr Hehir’s subsequent death from pneumonia in 1909, while still in relative youth, came as a shock to all who had been acquainted with him. A large number of sorrowing friends followed his funeral procession from the Whitworth Hospital to Glasnevin Cemetery.

I wonder were the Kellys among the cortège – and if the taxing officer ever awarded anything to Mr Hehir on foot of his famous Bill of Costs?

Image Credit