Irish judges of old were known for, and possibly even selected on the basis of, their punning skills, finely honed with expert precision to reflect the most current talking points of the time.
The rise of Catholicism in early 19th century Ireland was one such talking point, and the increasing presence of Catholic colleagues provided Protestant barristers with access to a new and hitherto untapped seam of religious phraseology out of which puns relevant to this issue could – in the best of spirit- eagerly be created.
An example of such a pun is recorded for posterity in Marshall Brown’s ‘Wit and Humour of Bench and Bar,’ the punster in question being the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland Charles Kendal Bushe, described by Brown as ‘one of the most eloquent men of his time… his wit came without effort.’ According to Brown:
“At a dinner given by a Dublin Orangeman, when politics ran high, and Bushe was suspected of holding pro-Catholic opinions, the host indulged so freely that he fell under the table. The Duke of Richmond, who was then viceroy, picked him up and replaced him in the chair.
‘My Lord Duke,’ said Bushe, ‘though you say I am attached to the Catholics, at all events I never assisted at the elevation of the Host.”
Punning was a competitive business, and although Bushe can thank Catholic liturgy for his punning fame, the same religion also led to one of the low points of his punning career when he was outdone by a fellow judge on a visit to the St Patrick’s College Maynooth (now Maynooth University), which had been established as a lay college for Catholics in 1795.
According to an anecdote recorded by William J O’Neill Daunt in ‘A Life Spent for Ireland,’
“[W]hen Lord Norbury, the hanging judge, was one of the visitors of Maynooth, Lord Chief Justice Bushe, who was also a visitor, engaged in conversation with the professors. They were all standing on a grass plot. Norbury came puffing up to the group, and addressing Bushe, said, ‘I never expected to see the Chief Justice engaged with Maynooth professors in a plot.’ Bushe turned aside, muttering ‘Norbury never can see anything without churning it in his mind to see how a pun can be made out of it…”
It seems that Bushe’s famous punning facility deserted him on this occasion – or, perhaps, he felt, possibly wisely, that it would be inappropriate for him, as a guest, to respond in kind.
The source of the above anecdote? The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, who greatly enjoyed dining out on the story!
More on the universally beloved Bushe
More on the more controversial Norbury
Image Credits: (top) (below left) (below right)
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