Richard Robert Cherry PC

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...

 (19 March 1859 – 10 February 1923 ) was an Irish politician and judge. He was Attorney-General for Ireland

Attorney-General for Ireland

The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was senior to the Solicitor-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters...

, a judge of the Irish Court of Appeal

Irish Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal in Ireland was created by the Westminster Parliament under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1877 as the final appellate court within Ireland, then under British rule...

  and Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland 1913-1916. He was appointed Attorney-General in 1905. He was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Liverpool Exchange

Liverpool Exchange (UK Parliament constituency)

Liverpool Exchange was a borough constituency within the city of Liverpool in England, centred around Liverpool Exchange railway station. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.The...

 in 1906. Cherry published works include Lectures on the Growth of Criminal Law in Ancient Communities, 1890, and a book on the Irish Land Acts which was described as an indispensable part of every Irish barrister's library.

Background and education

Cherry was born in Waterford

Waterford

Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

, the second son of Robert Willaim Cherry, a solicitor; the family was of French Hugenot origin. He was a graduate of the University of Dublin

University of Dublin

The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...

, where he had been auditor of the College Historical Society.

Legal career

In 1889 Cherry became Reid Professor of Criminal and Constitutional Law, and published two books on criminal law. He was called to the Bar in 1881 and became 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...

 in 1896. His promising career was according to his family damaged by his staunch opposition to the Boer War

Boer War

The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....

, although this did not prevent his appointment as Attorney General for Ireland in 1905 or his election to the House of Commons the following year. His elevation to the Bench in 1909 was said to be due to the extreme pressure of work; possibly he was already suffering from ill-health although it was not until some years later that he was diagnosed with what was described as " slow paralysis". His illness did not prevent his promotion to Lord Chief Justice; however he served only three years, retiring it appears partly through ill-health and partly because the Government was very anxious to promote James Campbell

James Campbell

James Campbell, Esq. was the founder of the Estate of James Campbell, one of the largest and wealthiest landowners in the United States Territory of Hawaii and in the state of Hawaii until 2007...

 to the Chief Justice's office.

His retirement was as active as his health allowed : he divided his time between a summer house at Greystones

Greystones

Greystones is a coastal town and small seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on Ireland’s east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin , with a population in the region of 15,000....

, County Wicklow, and his town house at St.Stephen's Green, where he died.He married Mary Cooper in 1886; their daughter Mary published a biography of her father in 1924.

Bodkin's case

As Attorney General Cherry became embroiled in the politically embarrassing case of Matthias Bodkin, a barrister and well-known journalist, who was appointed a County Court judge, only to find his appointment challenged almost at once on the grounds that he was not, as the law requires , a " practicing barrister " The case eventually settled, but not before Cherry's conduct of it had come in for criticism. A..M. Sullivan,one of the counsel involved, called his arguments " nonsense "; Maurice Healy wrote that his argument that the royal prerogative could not be questioned " would have rejoiced the heart of James I

James I

James I may refer to:* King James I of Aragon * King James I of Sicily , also King James II of Aragon* James I, Count of La Marche , Count of Ponthieu...

" but did not impress a Court in the early 1900s.

Reputation

Maurice Healy, who had first-hand experience of Cherry as a judge, did not rate him highly. While praising his textbooks he considered him a plodding barrister and well-meaning but ineffectual law officer and judge : " his knowledge of his fellow men was not extensive , and erred towards charity.". More recently Hogan in a much fuller account gives a far more favourable picture: he argues that Cherry's rapid rise in his profession suggests a much greater degree of success than Healy allows and that his speeches and judgments show a man of intelligence and originality. Hogan agrees that Cherry was not an outstanding judge and was too inclined to briefly agree with his colleagues but argues that his few long judgments are of high quality, especially those on land law, on which he was an acknowledged expert.