Alexander George Richey (1830–1883) was an Irish barrister and historian.

Life

He was the son of Alexander Richey of Mountemple,

Coolock Coolock () is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside (Dublin), Northside in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, and his wife,

Matilda Browne Matilda Browne (May 8, 1869 – November 3, 1947) was an American Impressionist artist noted for her flower paintings and her farm and cattle scenes. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was a child prodigy who received early art training from her ar ...

, whose sister Margaret married Henry Caulfeild, father of the 3rd Earl of Charlemont. He was educated at

Dungannon Royal School The Royal School is a mixed boarding school located in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was one of a number of 'free schools' created by James I (otherwise known as James VI of Scotland) in 1608 to provide an education to the sons ...

, entered

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, in 1848, and was elected on the foundation in 1861. He graduated B.A. in 1853, winning the first gold medal in classics, LL.B. in 1855, and LL.D. in 1873. Richey was

called to the Irish bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) 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 Ba ...

in 1855, and

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1871. In 1871 he was appointed deputy Regius Professor of Feudal and English Law at Trinity College; he was also vice-president of the Royal Irish Academy, and an auditor and prizeman of the

College Historical Society The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund Bu ...

. He died at his residence, 27 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin, on 29 November 1883, and was buried on 3 December in

Mount Jerome cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Works

Richey was author of: * ''Lectures on the History of Ireland; two series'', 1869, 1870; the first was a course delivered at

Alexandra College Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...

, Dublin, and covered the history of Ireland down to 1534; the second was delivered at Trinity College and went as far as the

plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

. These lectures, together with other lectures, were collected in ''A Short History of the Irish People, down to the Plantation of Ulster'' (1887), edited, after Richey's death, by

Robert Romney Kane Sir Robert Romney Kane, Bt (28 October 1842 – 26 March 1902) was an Irish barrister and legal writer. He wrote also on Irish history. Life Born at Gracefield, Blackrock, Dublin, on 28 October 1842, he was eldest son of Sir Robert Kane; his ...

, with one chapter of a detailed history of Ireland. * ''The Irish Land Laws'', 1880. It was quoted as an authority by

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

in the debates on his Land Bill of 1881. Richey also edited vols. iii. and iv. of the

Brehon laws Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norma ...

, published by the commissioners for publishing the ancient laws and institutes of Ireland, to which he contributed prefaces. He contributed frequently to '' The Athenæum'' and '' Saturday Review''.

Family

Richey married the elder daughter of Major-general Henry Smith of Bathboys,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, who survived him with three sons and two daughters.

Notes

Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richey, Alexander George 1830 births 1883 deaths Auditors of the College Historical Society Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Irish barristers 19th-century Irish historians Irish legal writers People from Coolock