Sir Paget John Bourke, SC (1906 – 7 November 1983) was an Irish barrister and British colonial judge who served as chief justice of Sierra Leone and Cyprus .

Biography

The son of H.C. Bourke, of Amana, Ballina,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Bourke was educated at Mount St Mary's College, Chesterfield, and at

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 ...

(Mod. BA, LLB). He was called to the Irish Bar at

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) 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 environment ...

in 1928. He joined the

Colonial Legal Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

as Legal Adviser and Crown Prosecutor in

the Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

in 1933, where he was a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils. He then served in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, as a Chief Magistrate in 1936 and Relieving President of a District Court in 1941, and President of a District Court in 1945. He was then a Judge of Supreme Court of Kenya in 1946,

Chief Justice of Sierra Leone The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone is the highest court in Sierra Leone. It has final jurisdiction in all civil, criminal, and constitutional cases within Sierra Leone, and its decisions cannot be appealed. The Supreme Court has the exclusive co ...

from 1955 to 1957; Chief Justice of Cyprus from 1957 to 1960. He was called to the English Bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1957, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

the same year. On his retirement from the Colonial Service, he returned to Dublin and became a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

at the Irish Bar in 1961. He then became, on a part-time basis, a judge of the Courts of Appeal for the Bahamas, Bermuda from 1965, and of Belize from 1968; he was president of these courts from 1970 to 1975. He was also a Justice of Appeal in Gibraltar from 1970 to 1976, having served as acting

Chief Justice of Gibraltar The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar is one of the four judges who make up the supreme court of Gibraltar. Previously the Chief Justice was appointed by the Governor of Gibraltar on the advice of the British Foreign and Commonwealt ...

from October to December 1965. He was kidnapped in Dublin in 1975, but managed to escape at the border with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He later retired to his daughter's home in Cranbrook,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he died.

Family

Bourke married, in 1936, Susan Dorothy ( Killeen), who had once been

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

' girlfriend. They had three sons and a daughter. Lady Bourke died in 1982. Sir Paget Bourke was a paternal uncle of Irish president

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke, Paget 1906 births 1983 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People from Ballina, County Mayo Irish barristers Irish emigrants to Canada Irish knights Irish Senior Counsel Kidnapped Irish people Members of Gray's Inn British expatriate judges Knights Bachelor British Seychelles people Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate judges British Cyprus judges Mandatory Palestine judges Colony of the Bahamas judges Expatriate judges on the courts of the Bahamas Expatriate judges on the courts of Bermuda British Honduras judges Expatriate judges on the courts of Belize Irish colonial officials Colonial Legal Service officers British Kenya judges British expatriates in Mandatory Palestine