William Russell Lane-Joynt (27 March 1855– 6 June 1921), born in Limerick, was an Irish barrister,

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

and Olympic shooter. He founded the Irish Philatelic Society in Dublin. He assisted the

Duke of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title and the premier dukedom in the Peerage of Ireland. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in th ...

to form his collection, which was bequeathed to the Dublin Museum of Science and Art. Lane-Joynt was one of only two Irish philatelists to be honoured by signing the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists.

Life

He was the son of William Lane-Joynt, Mayor of Limerick (1862) and

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

(1867). He had four brothers and a sister. One of his brothers was the surgeon and radiologist, Richard Lane Joynt. Educated at Windermere College, Wales, Lane-Joynt graduated with a B.A. and M.B. from

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 Univ ...

in 1878. After attending

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

, Dublin, he was called to the bar as a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

in April 1879. He married in 1882 and had two children, Evelyn and William (b.24 August 1886). Lane-Joynt was Revolver Champion of Ireland four times and won a silver medal for

shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London saw fifteen shooting events. Most of the events were held at Bisley, Surrey while the trap shooting events were held at Uxendon. Competition schedule Medal summary A total of 45 medals were w ...

, held in London, as a member of the Men's Running Target, Single Shot Great Britain team. He also competed in three other events but did not feature in the medals.

Philately

Amongst Lane-Joynt's philatelic specialities were the line-engraved stamps of the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

, Canada,

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, Gold Coast, Great Britain, and the United States. He became a fellow of the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philately, philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History ...

in 1889. He was founder member and first president of the Irish Philatelic Club, later renamed the Irish Philatelic Society, at its inception in 1901 and remained its president until 1920. He helped the

assemble his Leinster Collection,. After the Duke's death, he became Honorary Curator of the collection that was bequeathed to the Dublin Museum of Science and Art. In 1921, he was invited to sign the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

Biographies of the 1921 signatories in Arthur Ronald Butler, ''The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists'', 1990, pages 46–64. as one of the initial 25 candidates but was unable to do so due to ill health."A distinguished Anglo-Irish Philatelist and an exhibition cover", David Potter, '' Stamp Lover'', Vol. 107, No. 6. (December 2015), p. 161. He remains only one of two Irishmen invited to sign the roll. At the time of his death in 1921, a portion of his collection was on display at the Dublin Museum of Science and Art. He bequeathed that to the museum to be added to the Duke of Leinster's collection, which added to the collection's interest. The balance of his collection was sold at auction in London in January 1922 and later auctions.

References

External links

National Museum's ‘Duke of Leinster’ bequest

''Philatelic Record'' biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane-Joynt, William Russell 1855 births 1921 deaths Irish philatelists British male sport shooters Olympic shooters for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Shooters at the 1908 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Limerick (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish barristers Olympic medalists in shooting Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists Alumni of King's Inns