Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet
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Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire), KC (19 June 1832 – 13 August 1911) was an Irish Liberal politician, lawyer and judge. He was the first of the Walker baronets of Pembroke House.


Career

He was born at Gore Port, Finea,
County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
, a younger son of Captain Alexander Walker and his wife Elizabeth Elliott, and younger brother of Mark Walker VC. He was educated at Portarlington School and
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. He entered
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before being
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 1855. Walker quickly became one of the leaders of the Irish Chancery bar; in 1872 he was made a
Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
, and eleven years later he became Ireland's
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. The following year, he was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Londonderry, a seat he held for little more than a year before the
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was divided, and in 1885 he was also for a period the island's
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
. His celebrated remark that on entering the House of Commons "he was amazed to hear Members making factual statements without sworn
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to support them" was probably a joke. He himself rarely spoke in the House, but his speeches were enlivened by a dry wit. An advocate for
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, Walker remained within the Liberal Party after its split, and was eventually appointed
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when
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returned to power in 1892. When Lord Rosebery's ministry fell three years later, he was made a
Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...
, and remained in this capacity until his reappointment as Lord Chancellor by the Liberal government in 1905. He lived at Pembroke Hall, Upper Mount Street in Dublin city. He was created a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
the following year, and died rather suddenly, while still in office, at his
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
house Pembroke Hall on 13 August 1911. He is buried in
Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...
, beside his first wife Cecilia and his daughter Alice.


Character and reputation

He was a lawyer of great ability, and went on to become one of a remarkable group of Irish judges, which included
Christopher Palles Christopher Palles (25 December 1831 – 14 February 1920) was an Irish barrister, Solicitor-General, Attorney-General and a judge for over 40 years. His biographer, Vincent Thomas Hyginus Delany, described him as "the greatest of the Irish judg ...
(served 1874–1916), Gerald FitzGibbon (served 1878–1909), and Hugh Holmes (served 1897–1913), who gave the
Irish Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal in Ireland was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 as the final appellate court within Ireland, then under British rule. A l ...
, in the years 1890–1910, a reputation for judicial eminence which has never been equalled by any other Irish Court, and could bear comparison with any equivalent English court.
Maurice Healy Maurice Healy (3 January 1859 – 9 November 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and member of parliament (MP). As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was returned to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great ...
praised him as "a loyal friend and a man of courage" but thought that these qualities sometimes led him into acts of political recklessness. His insistence on appointing Matthias Bodkin, a leading
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and a staunch political ally, to a County Court judgeship, was a serious political blunder. Although Bodkin was a qualified
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
, legitimate doubts had been raised by Walker's political opponents as to whether he had the necessary years of practice to qualify for appointment to the Bench. The result was an action for
quo warranto In the English-American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ issued by a court which orders someone to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they clai ...
challenging the validity of Bodkin's appointment, which gravely embarrassed the Government, although no harm ultimately came of it: the case was resolved amicably and Bodkin, by general agreement, proved to be an excellent judge.


Family

He married firstly in 1855 Cecilia Charlotte Greene, daughter of Arthur Greene and Frances Shaw, and a niece of the eminent judge Richard Wilson Greene, with whom he had six children, including Alexander, the second baronet, and Alice, who died in 1949. Cecilia died in 1880. He married secondly in 1881 Eleanor McLaughlin, with whom he had two more children, including Cecil, who succeeded his half-brother Alexander as third baronet.


Arms


References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 *''Burke's Peerage'' 107th Edition Delaware 2003 *Delaney, V.T.H ''Christopher Palles'' Allen Figgis and Co Dublin 1960 *Healy, Maurice ''The Old Munster Circuit'' Michael Joseph Ltd. 1939 * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Samuel, 1st Baronet 1832 births 1911 deaths Attorneys-general for Ireland Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Irish King's Counsel Irish Liberal Party MPs Lord chancellors of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Westmeath Solicitors-general for Ireland UK MPs 1880–1885
501 __NOTOC__ Year 501 ( DI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Pompeius (or, less frequently, year 1254 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 501 fo ...
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Lords Justice of Appeal for Ireland Lawyers from County Westmeath