Dodgson Hamilton Madden (28 March 1840 – 6 March 1928) was an Irish Unionist Party Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom Parliament and subsequently a Judge. The Irish Unionists were the Irish wing of the Conservative Party. He was the only son of the Reverend Hugh Hamilton Madden of Templemore, County Tipperary. He married twice.
He attended Trinity College, Dublin, before being called to the Irish Bar in 1864. He became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1880 and Third Serjeant in 1887.
Madden wrote books on legal topics as well as The Diary of Master William Silence; a Study of Shakespeare and of Elizabethan Sport. His scholarship led Maurice Healy to describe him as " a don who had strayed into the Courts" Of his legal works the best known was Madden on Deeds, the standard work for many years.
Madden was Solicitor-General for Ireland 1888-1890, and Attorney-General for Ireland in 1890-1892. He was made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland 9 December 1889.
He was MP for Dublin University 1887-1892. He was subsequently Vice-Chancellor of Dublin University 1895-1919.
Madden left the House of Commons when he was appointed to the office of Justice of the Queen's Bench Division of the Irish High Court in 1892, an office which he held until 1919 when he retired and moved to England. Maurice Healy in his memoir The Old Munster Circuit described him with respect and affection: " one of the most charming judges I ever met".
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hugh Holmes and David Robert Plunket |
Member of Parliament for Dublin University 1887–1892 With: David Robert Plunket |
Succeeded by Edward Carson and David Robert Plunket |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Peter O'Brien |
Solicitor-General for Ireland 1888–1890 |
Succeeded by John Atkinson |
| Preceded by Peter O'Brien |
Attorney-General for Ireland 1890–1892 |
Succeeded by The MacDermot |