John Doherty,

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

(1785–1850) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

politician,

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...

and senior judge, who became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.

Background and education

Doherty was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, the second surviving son of John Doherty and his wife Margaret Verney. His father, an attorney, died before 1803. He was educated at Chester School and the University of Dublin, entered the King's Inns, and was called to the Bar 1808. He had a family connection through his father with the leading statesman George Canning, which was useful to him in his career. Doherty's father's mother (so his grandmother) was Abigail Canning, the sister of George Canning's grandfather.

Legal and judicial career

Doherty was made a King's Counsel in 1823 (becoming a Queen's Counsel with the accession of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

to the Throne in 1837). He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for New Ross, Kilkenny City and Newport (Cornwall) and served as

from 1827 to 1830. He was a Bencher of the King's Inns. In 1830 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, in which office he remained until his death from heart disease in 1850. As a judge, he was described as courteous and painstaking, but not deeply learned. As Solicitor-General he is remembered mainly for prosecuting the '

Doneraile Conspiracy The Doneraile Conspiracy was an event and subsequent trial, during a time of agrarian unrest in Ireland, when many tenant farmers experienced extreme poverty and hardship at the hands of their landlords. Since the 18th century, the secret oath-bound ...

' case in 1829, and for his ferocious clashes with

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, who appeared as defence counsel for several of the accused and secured their acquittals. O'Connell attacked both Doherty's tactics and his integrity, openly accusing him of conniving in the conviction of innocent men: he repeated the attacks in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

where Doherty successfully defended his conduct. The enmity between the two men lasted till death.

Reputation

While O'Connell had a very poor opinion of Doherty (as he did of many of the Irish judges at the time, notably

Thomas Lefroy Thomas Langlois Lefroy (8 January 1776 – 4 May 1869) was an Irish-Huguenot politician and judge. He served as an MP for the constituency of Dublin University in 1830–1841, Privy Councillor of Ireland in 1835–1869 and Lord Chief Just ...

), and treated his appointment as Chief Justice as a personal insult, most of his colleagues on the Bench admired Doherty's legal ability (though not a profound legal scholar, he had a great knowledge of Court procedures). At the same time, they probably agreed with O'Connell that his rapid advancement was due to his reputation as a safe "Government man". However, he did have certain principles: in particular, he was a convinced believer in

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. As a judge he lobbied repeatedly for a peerage, but without success.

Personal life

Doherty married Elizabeth Lucy Wall, daughter of Charles William Wall, in 1822. They had seven children, including John, the eldest son and heir. His main residence was St. Helen's, Booterstown, which he bought in 1830, and to which he made several improvements. He also had a townhouse at Ely Place and a farm, called "Blacklion", in County Carlow. He died while on his annual summer holiday at

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from th ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. In private life, he was noted as a keen coin collector and for his speculations, often unlucky, on the Stock Exchange. Due to his exceptional height, he was nicknamed "Long Jack". His courtroom manner was described as "theatrical and pompous", and his consciously "refined" accent made him an easy target for parody by opponents. On the other hand, his charm and sense of humour made him a popular figure in Dublin society.Geoghegan, Patrick M. ''King Dan- the rise of Daniel O'Connell'' Gill and Macmillan Dublin 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, John 1785 births 1850 deaths Solicitors-General for Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Politicians from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newport (Cornwall) 19th-century King's Counsel Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wexford constituencies (1801–1922) Lawyers from Dublin (city)