Christopher Palles
Encyclopedia
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(December 25, 1831 – February 14, 1920), was an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and judge.
Biography
Palles was born on Christmas Day at Mount Palles, near MountnugentMountnugent
Mountnugent, historically known as Dalysbridge , is a village in southern County Cavan, in the province of Ulster, Ireland. It is located on the R194 regional road on the River Inny near Lough Sheelin.-Facilities:...
, in south County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He was the third son of Andrew C. Palles, a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, and his wife Eleanor (born Plunkett). Palles was educated at Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
(from where he graduated in 1852, having been a non-Foundation Scholar [Catholics were not allowed be full 'Scholars of the House'] in Mathematics and Physics), and he was called to the Irish Bar in 1853. He became Doctor of Laws and Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(Q.C.) in 1865. In 1872, he was briefly Solicitor General for Ireland. Appointed on February 6, 1872, he was succeeded by Hugh Law
Hugh Law
Hugh Law PC , QC was an Irish lawyer, politician and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.Law was educated at Trinity College, Dublin where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1839. He became a barrister in 1840 and a Queen's Counsel in 1860...
, November 18, 1872. Palles was appointed Attorney General for Ireland in that year and made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
.
He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Londonderry
Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
Londonderry was a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983...
. In 1874 he was appointed to the bench, becoming Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The Exchequer division was in 1898 merged in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland. From that time the Chief Baron sat as one of the judges of the Queen's Bench division, and also as a judge of appeal. Chief Baron Palles retired from the bench in 1916, by letter to Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
H.H. Asquith who, with uncharacteristic lucidity and prescience, replied that for many years to come the words of 'Palles CB' would be cited with approval. He died in Dublin in 1920. A collection of Palles' papers is available at University College, Dublin (U.C.D.).
Palles married Ellen Doyle in 1862 and they had one son , also named Christopher. The family lived in Mountjoy Square (regarded as the most prestigious area in Dublin at the time), then moved out to Mount Anvil where they cultivated a peach orchard, and to Fitzwilliam Place where a town-brick neo-gothic oratory was added (and can still be seen from Leeson Street
Leeson Street
Leeson Street is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland.Originally known as Suesey Street, it was renamed in 1728 after the Leesons, a family of local brewers, who branched into property development and subsequently became Earls of Milltown....
).
In his lifetime he was considered the outstanding Irish judge of his age and has generally been similarly regarded ever since, though critics attacked his tendency to decide cases on technical points rather than the merits.
Maurice Healy
Maurice Healy
Maurice Healy was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament . As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was returned to in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland four times between 1885 and 1918.He was one of twins, the third son born...
in his memoir The Old Munster Circuit paints an affectionate picture of Chief Baron Palles in old age as an awe-inspiring but kindly old judge; his manner and reputation could strike terror into young barristers, yet 'we were all devoted to him'. His (judicial) portrait still hangs in the Bencher's Room in the King's Inns
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...
.
V.T.H. Delany wrote a comprehensive biography in the 1960's.
Legal citations
Palles' judgments are commonly cited to this day. Dillon v. O’Brien and Davis [1887] 20 LR IR 300 has been cited in Braddish -v- D.P.P. [2001] IESC 45 and McGrath -v- DPP & Bowes -v- DPP [2003] IESC 9. Bell v. the Great Northern Railway Company of Ireland (1890) 26 LR Ir 428 was cited in Fletcher -v- Commissioner of Public Works in Ireland [2003] IESC 13. Herron -v- Rathmines and Rathgar Improvement Commissioners 27 LR Ir 179 was referred to in Crilly & Farrington -v- Eastern Health Board [2001] IESC 60. Williamson v. Rover Cycle Company (1901) 2 IR 615 was discussed by the Supreme Court in O'Mahony -v- Tyndale [2001] IESC 62. McGrath v Bourne (1876) I.R. 10 C.L. 160 was considered in Rossiter (A Minor) -v- Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council [2001] IESC 85 and Gough -v- Neary [2003] IESC 39. Cox v. Dublin City Distillery (No. 2) [1915] 1 IR 345 was mentioned in Carroll -v- The Law Society of Ireland [2003] IESC 1. Palles C.B.'s "[f]amous" definition of "public bar" (deriving from Quinn v. Bourke [1906] 2 I.R. 94 at 97) was cited in Ampleforth Ltd t/a The Fitzwilliam Hotel -v- Cherating Ltd [2003] IESC 27. A case in which Palles C.B. was a member of the Irish Court of Appeal (The National Bank v. Cullen [1894] 2 I.R. 683) was cited in Smyth -v- Tunney [2004] IESC 24. Palles C.B.'s analysis of the case law relating to the part performance doctrine under the Statute of Frauds was mentioned in Dakota Packaging Ltd -v- AHP Manufacturing BV Trading As Wyeth Medica Ltd [2004] IESC 102.On March 18, 2005, two judges of the High Court cited judgments of Palles C.B., in Mitchell v Ireland [2005] IEHC 102 (Cox v. Dublin City Distillery (No. 2) [1915] 1 I.R. 345) Honniball -v- Cunningham [2005] IEHC 91 (McDonagh v. Davis [1875] I.R. 9 CL 300) respectively. Hegarty v Shine 2 L.R.I. 273, and 4 L.R.I. 288 was cited by the President of the High Court in Anderson v Cooke [2005] IEHC 221. Keogh v. Dental Hospital [1910] I.R. at p. 166 was cited in Byrne & Anor v Radio Telefís Éireann [2006] IEHC 71. Stephenson v. Weir 4 LR. Ir. 369, decided in 1879, was referred to in December 2006 in Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland -v- Hanley [2006] IEHC 405.