Sir Robert Alfred McCall, (9 July 1849 – April 1934) was an Irish lawyer. He was born at

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, County Antrim, and educated at the

Queen's College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

and

Queen's College Belfast Queen's University Belfast, officially The Queen's University of Belfast (commonly referred to as Queen's and QUB), is a Public university, public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter ...

Legal career

Called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1871. In 1891, having already acquired a large junior practice, he took silk (that is, was appointed Queen's Counsel). He served in numerous cases involving the common law and, while not making the first rank of Winch and Candy, was a powerful and popular advocate. Politically, McCall was allied to the Unionist cause and was friendly with

Lord James of Hereford Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford, (30 October 1828 – 18 August 1911), known as Sir Henry James between 1873 and 1895, was an Anglo-Welsh lawyer and statesman. Initially a Liberal, he served under William Ewart Gladstone as Solicitor G ...

. This friendship led to McCall's appointment as Attorney General and Queen's Serjeant to the Duchy of Lancaster. He was elected as a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 1918. He was made a Commissioner of the Assize and K.C.V.O. (Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order) in 1921 and was also appointed as Registrar of the

Railway and Canal Commission {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Railway and Canal Commission was a British court of record, established by the Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1888 and abolished by the Railway and Canal Commission (Abolition) Act 1949. The Regulation of Railway ...

in the same year. He was senator of the University of London and President of the Huguenot Society of London in 1923. He was a correspondent with '' The Times''. There are three portraits of him in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

. He married Alice MacSwinney of Galway in 1876 (McCall had attended university with her brother R. F. MacSwinney).

Sources

Obituary, ''The Times'', 7 April 1934; pg. 12; Issue 46722; col C

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Robert 1849 births 1934 deaths Alumni of the University of Galway British King's Counsel Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People from Lisburn 19th-century King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel The Times people Lawyers from County Antrim Lawyers from County Down