John Atkinson, Baron Atkinson (13 December 1844 – 13 March 1932) was an Irish politician and British judge. He was born at Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

, County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

, the eldest son of Edward Atkinson, a physician, of Glenwilliam Castle, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

 and Skea House, Enniskillen

Enniskillen

Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

, County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh

Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....

, and his wife Rosetta. He died at 39 Hyde Park Gate, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He was said to have had a kindly but unconventional personality.

Education

Atkinson was educated at the Belfast Academy and later at Queen's College Galway

National University of Ireland, Galway

The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...

, which he attended from 1858 to 1865. He won Junior Scholarships in the Science Division of the Faculty of Arts, 1858-9, 1859–60 and 1860-1. He was awarded the B.A. degree with first-class honours in 1861, and pursued a varied postgraduate career – from initial study of the sciences (with Senior Scholarships in Mathematics, 1861-2, and Natural Philosophy, 1862-3) he moved into Law, gaining a first-class Diploma in Elementary Law in 1864. A further Senior Scholarship, this time in Law, followed, and he graduated with a first-class L.L.B. in 1865. Throughout his university career, he was noted as an orator of distinction, and served as Auditor of the college's Literary and Debating Society for the 1862-63 session.

Early Legal Career

Atkinson was called to the Irish Bar in 1865 and appointed a 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 1880 at the early age of 35. He practised as a QC on the Munster Circuit. He was elected a Bencher of 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...

 in June 1885. In 1890, he was called to the English Bar by the Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

, and was elected a Bencher there in 1906. Atkinson represented the Times Newspaper before the Parnell Commission

Parnell Commission

The Parnell Commission was a judicial inquiry in the late 1880s into allegations of crimes by Irish parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell which resulted in his vindication.-Background:...

 in 1888.

Political life

Atkinson was politically active throughout his career at the Bar, and in 1889 was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland

Solicitor-General for Ireland

The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. At least one holder of the office, Patrick Barnewall played a significant role in...

. He became 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...

 in 1892, and later that year was appointed a Privy Councillor. In January 1893, having left the office of Attorney-General, he called a motion at a Unionist meeting in County Fermanagh declaring renewed opposition to Home Rule

Home rule

Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....

. At a meeting in March of that year (1893) at Leinster Hall Atkinson declared that a breach in the Union between the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and 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...

 would mean an end to civil and religious liberty. In December 1893 he was selected to represent the Unionist Party in North Londonderry

North Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)

North Londonderry was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland.-Boundaries and boundary changes:This county constituency comprised the northern part of County Londonderry.It returned one Member of Parliament 1885–1922....

. His candidature was endorsed by Arthur Balfour

Arthur Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...

, then leader of the House of Commons, with the words –“it is important that the loyalists of Ulster be represented by eloquent and able men”. Atkinson was elected a Conservative M.P. for North Londonderry in 1895; upon his election, he was again appointed Attorney-General, an office he held for the next ten years. During this time, he was closely involved in the framing of many significant pieces of legislation, including the Irish Land Act, 1896, and the Local Government Act, 1898.

Appointed as a Law Lord

In December 1905, he was appointed to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...

 and life peer

Life peer

In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

 under the title Baron Atkinson, of Glenwilliam in the County of Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

, the first Irish barrister to be appointed as a Law Lord directly from his practice at the bar - Judges John Fitzgerald

John FitzGerald, Baron FitzGerald

John David FitzGerald, Baron FitzGerald PC, PC was an Irish judge and Liberal politician.-Background:...

 and Michael Morris

Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin

Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin PC, QC , known as Sir Michael Morris, Bt, from 1885 to 1889 and as The Lord Morris between 1889 and 1900, was an Irish lawyer and judge...

 had served on the Irish Bench for many years before their respective appointments. For the title of his life peerage, he chose Glenwilliam, after Glenwilliam Castle in County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

, the home of his father. Atkinson’s appointment, however, was not met with universal approval by his profession. As a former member of the cabinet he was seen as a political judge, however his industry and keen sense of justice came to be seen as a valuable addition to the bench. On his appointment as a Law Lord, he withdrew from active politics, limiting his contributions on political matters in the House of Lords to the discussion of Irish matters, such as the Irish Land Bill in 1909, to which he tabled several amendments. Atkinson retired as a judge in 1928, and died at his home in London on 13 March 1932. A portrait by John St Helier Lander

John St Helier Lander

John St Helier Lander was a noted portrait painter. Born John Helier Lander, he added the St. to acknowledge his birth place of Saint Helier in the Channel Islands...

 hangs in the Bar Room of 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...

, Dublin.

Sources

• T.C. Tobias, 'Atkinson, John, Baron Atkinson (1844–1932)', rev. Sinéad Agnew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Obituary, The Times, March 14, 1932. see also reply by Arthur Balfor on March 15, 1932.