Christopher Palles

Chief Baron Christopher Palles.

The Rt. Hon. Christopher Palles, PC, QC (25 December 1831 – 14 February 1920), was an Irish barrister and perhaps the most eminent Irish judge of his time.

Biography

Palles was born on Christmas Day at Mount Palles, near Mountnugent, in south County Cavan, Ireland. He was the third son of Andrew Christopher Palles (1801-1880), a solicitor, and his wife Eleanor Mary Palles (née Plunkett),1801-1877.^[1] Palles was educated at Clongowes Wood College and Trinity College, Dublin (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 (Q.C.) in 1865.

He was the Solicitor General from February to November 1872.^[2] He was appointed Attorney General in that year and made a member of the Privy Council. He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Londonderry in 1872, much to the annoyance of the Government, which normally relied on the Irish Attorney General to defend its Irish policies from the floor of the House of Commons.

In 1874 he was appointed to the bench, becoming Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer.^[2] In 1898 the Exchequer division was 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. During his 40 years on the Bench he gained a reputation for eminence probably unequalled by any other Irish judge. Chief Baron Palles retired from the bench, due to age and increasing ill-health, in 1916, by letter to Prime Minister H.H. Asquith who replied that for many years to come the words of "Palles CB" would be cited with approval. He died in Dublin in 1920.

Personal life

Palles married Ellen Doyle at the Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough Street, Dublin in 1862 and they had one son, also named Christopher (1863-1953). The family lived in Mountjoy Square in Dublin, then moved out to Mountanville in Clonskeagh to a site subsequently named "Knockrabo", 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). Palles' family life was not altogether happy: his wife's health was poor, and their son, as his father's will shows, needed special care throughout his very long life. Ellen died in 1887.

His older brother Andrew Palles (1829-1900), also educated at Clongowes Wood School and Trinity College, Dublin was a civil engineer who later became the Chief Baron's Registrar. Andrew's daughter, Elizabeth, moved in with her uncle after Mrs Palles's death and managed the household for the rest of his life. The Chief Baron is buried at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Reputation

In his lifetime he was considered the greatest Irish judge of his age; and he has been so regarded ever since, though critics attacked his tendency to decide cases on technical points rather than the merits. Although more than 80 men held that office, V.T.H. Delaney in his biography of Palles said: "In Ireland there is only one Chief Baron". Alexander Sullivan, with long experience of both Irish and English judges, ranked him one of the four greatest judges he had seen on either the Irish or the English bench.

Maurice Healy in his memoir The Old Munster Circuit paints an affectionate picture of Chief Baron Palles as an awe-inspiring but kindly old judge; describing his manner and reputation as striking terror into young barristers, yet "we were all devoted to him". Despite his stern appearance, he had a sense of humour: Delaney records the story of a nervous Queen's Counsel who blurted out that his junior did not want the judge to see a certain document- Palles, much amused replied "Mr O'Brien, you must never do anything of which your junior would not approve". His (judicial) portrait still hangs in the Bencher's Room in the King's Inns.

Important judgments

Palles CB's judgments are commonly cited to this day; in 1960 Delaney wrote that judges were still asking "what did Palles have to say on the point"? Examples include the following:

• Dillon v. O'Brien and Davis [1887] 20 LR IR 300 has been cited in Braddish v. DPP [2001] IESC 45^[3] and McGrath v. DPP & Bowes v. DPP [2003] IESC 9.^[4]
• 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.^[5]
• Herron v. Rathmines and Rathgar Improvement Commissioners 27 LR Ir 179 was referred to in Crilly & Farrington v. Eastern Health Board [2001] IESC 60.^[6]
• Williamson v. Rover Cycle Company (1901) 2 IR 615 was discussed by the Supreme Court in O'Mahony v. Tyndale [2001] IESC 62.^[7]
• 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^[8] and Gough v. Neary [2003] IESC 39.^[9]
• Cox v. Dublin City Distillery (No. 2) [1915] 1 IR 345 was mentioned in Carroll v. The Law Society of Ireland [2003] IESC 1.^[10]
• 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.^[11]
• On 18 March 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)^[12] and Honniball v. Cunningham [2005] IEHC 91 (McDonagh v. Davis [1875] I.R. 9 CL 300) respectively.^[13]
• 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.^[14]
• 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.^[15]

References

External links

• Palles papers