Richard Armstrong (1815 – 26 August 1880) was an Irish

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, and barrister. He was the son of William Armstrong, an engineer by profession, of Roxborough, Co. Armagh, and his wife Eliza Armstrong (née Steacy). After graduating in law from Trinity College Dublin, Armstrong was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1839 and then, in 1854, became

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He was considered one of the finest Irish advocates of his time, with numerous courtroom triumphs to his credit, most notably the

Yelverton case The Yelverton case was a famous 19th-century Irish law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland. Under a Statute of King George II (19 Geo. 2. c. 13), any marriage between a Catholic (Popish) ...

. Armstrong was elected MP as a Liberal candidate for Sligo Borough in the 1865 general election and held the seat until

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

when he stood down. He was the First Serjeant-at-law of Ireland from 1866 until his death, having previously served as Third Serjeant from 1861 to 1865, and briefly as Second Serjeant in 1865. A very tall man, he was nicknamed "the Big Serjeant" while his diminutive colleague Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet was "the Little Serjeant". Armstrong married Elizabeth Meurant in 1847, and they had at least one son, William Armstrong BL (1848-1899) who married Alice Arundel, and one daughter, Lily (1952-1931) who befriended

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

while she attended

Winnington Hall Winnington Hall is a former country house in Winnington, now a suburb of Northwich, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The building is in effect two house ...

. She was the subject of a watercolour by him, and was a lily in his book ''Lilies and Sesame: the Ethics of Dust''. Lily married Lt. William T. S. Kevill-Davies.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Richard 1815 births 1880 deaths Irish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1865–1868 Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish Queen's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel People from County Armagh Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Sligo constituencies (1801–1922)