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178:. On the grounds of legal ability no one could dispute that he was highly qualified for judicial office, and in non-political cases, he had a good reputation: if not a profound lawyer, he had the ability to quickly see the essential point of a case. Unfortunately his conduct as a judge did nothing to restore the damage to his reputation. He was a man of strong opinions, which were always expressed forcefully, and his hot temper led to frequent quarrels with counsel. On one occasion
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186:, was threatened with removal from Court. It must be said in Keogh's defence that, having recovered his temper, he apologised to O'Brien in open court in the presence of the assembled Bar. This suggests that Keogh, who as a young man had been famed for geniality and good humour, was not acting out of malice, but rather suffering from stress and ill-health.
293:, published a few years after Keogh's death, is largely favourable. However, as McCullagh points out, not many politicians so damage their reputations that they are still spoken of with contempt a century later; and despite Keogh's gifts, one must conclude that much of the damage to his reputation was self-inflicted.
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of London to protest that in any country but
Ireland his talents would have won him popularity and respect. There is no doubt of his intellectual gifts, while his friends recalled the charm and good humour he had shown in his earlier years, and his son-in-law, Mr Justice James Murphy, to whom he had
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In his last years, Keogh showed increasing signs of eccentricity, in the face of unrelenting public hostility from much of the
Catholic population. His public clash with Peter O'Brien, which probably occurred in 1877, suggests that his bad temper was the result of stress rather than ill nature, and
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in 1849. No one has ever questioned his intellectual abilities. He was a superb speaker both in public and private and he founded a well-known debating society, the Tail-end Club. He published several books on law, politics and literature, including a book on the prose writings of
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and the two used to dine at each other's houses every week. Father Healy's broad-mindedness and sense of humour struck a chord with the unconventional judge. Father Healy remained supportive of Keogh throughout Keogh's disputes with the Church and periods of mental illness.
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and to further the cause of tenant reform, and most crucially, its members gave an explicit promise not to take office but instead to hold the balance of power at
Westminster. In this they were at first successful, helping to vote out the administration of
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in an effort to regain his health, but on 19 August 1878, he attacked his valet with a straight razor in a fit of delirium, and was confined to a hospital. While he may have recovered his sanity, he continued to decline physically and died in
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in 1855. His decision was seen by the Irish electorate as an unforgivable betrayal of a solemn pledge and his name, along with
Sadleir's, entered the Irish political vocabulary. Even a century later,
72:. Despite his later reputation for eccentricity and bad temper, as a young man, he was considered to be the best of company: genial, good-humoured and a superb conversationalist. He joined the
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circuit where he rapidly acquired a large practice, due less to any great legal skill than to his eloquence and impressive presence; these gifts soon turned him towards politics.
39:(1817– 30 September 1878) was an unpopular and controversial Irish politician and judge, whose name became a byword in Ireland for betraying one's political principles.
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131:) made the decision which destroyed his reputation in his own lifetime and long after his death: he accepted office in the Aberdeen Government, becoming first
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Keogh's conduct of the "Fenian Trials" of 1865–6 and the savage sentences which were handed down were much criticised, although his defenders said that
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the reminisces of Oliver Burke demonstrate that he could still show considerable charm and good humour on occasion. In 1878 he travelled abroad to
233:"My dear Healy," said Keogh, with a very solemn face, "I'll do anything you wish - only name it. I'd turn Turk or Mohammedan if it serves you."
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at least had been treated as leniently as the evidence allowed. Further damage was done to his reputation by his decision on the
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which championed the cause of tenant reform; he was re-elected for
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Keogh's death did nothing to lessen the hostility to him at home; the Irish newspapers heaped abuse on him, causing
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Azure a lion rampant Gules in the dexter chief a dexter hand in the sinister chief an increscent of the last.
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judge on the ground that he "did not wish face charges of being another
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been close, championed him to the end. The picture of him in Burke's
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The following exchange was recorded by Father Healy's biographer:
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Members of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom for Athlone
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374:. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 34.
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The
Reluctant Taoiseach: a biography of John A. Costello
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51:, son of William Keogh, clerk of the Crown for
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581:contributions in Parliament by William Keogh
103:. In 1851 he was one of the founders of the
607:. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
174:In 1856 Keogh was appointed a judge of the
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221:Keogh developed a close friendship with
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154:In 1854, Keogh was appointed to the
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496:Anecdotes of the Connaught Circuit
463:Allen Figgis, Dublin, 1960 pp.62-4
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87:, and had six children, including
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99:In 1847 Keogh was elected MP for
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615:Parliament of the United Kingdom
604:Dictionary of National Biography
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526:, Volume 12, 5 Oct 1878, p. 500
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386:The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921
365:"Keogh, William Nicholas"
236:"Turn Catholic," replied Healy.
25:Caricature of William Keogh by
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309:Coat of arms of William Keogh
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184:Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
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691:Attorney-General for Ireland
217:Friendship with Father Healy
137:Attorney-General for Ireland
105:Catholic Defence Association
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83:(1823–1901), judge of the
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546:The Reluctant Taoiseach
524:and Solicitors' Journal
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120:, who was replaced by
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278:, published June 1872
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165:
161:
157:
152:
150:
149:Supreme Court
146:
142:
138:
134:
130:
125:
123:
122:Lord Aberdeen
119:
114:
110:
106:
102:
92:
90:
86:
82:
77:
75:
71:
66:
62:
58:
54:
50:
40:
38:
35:
28:
27:Harry Furniss
23:
19:
1306:Jonathan Pim
1171:Henry Ormsby
1146:Henry Ormsby
1091:Edmund Hayes
1070:
976:John Doherty
946:John Stewart
936:Arthur Wolfe
916:Godfrey Lill
896:Warden Flood
856:John Forster
689:
662:
629:
624:John Collett
602:
585:
574:
558:
553:
545:
540:
531:
519:
515:
507:
503:
495:
490:
481:
473:
468:
460:
442:
438:
426:. Retrieved
424:. p. 57
416:
406:
398:
393:
385:
380:
369:
295:
290:
283:
281:
275:
244:
235:
232:
228:
220:
188:
173:
153:
129:John Sadleir
126:
98:
81:James Murphy
78:
46:
33:
32:
18:
1385:1878 deaths
1380:1817 births
1331:Denis Henry
1216:John Monroe
1186:Hugh Holmes
1096:John George
831:John Temple
579:1803–2005:
498:Dublin 1885
428:9 September
360:Lee, Sidney
164:English law
135:, and then
70:John Milton
1374:Categories
1201:John Naish
941:John Toler
921:John Scott
886:John Bowes
766:John Bathe
695:1855–1856
668:1853–1855
636:1847–1856
544:McCullagh
535:Ball p.321
420:. Oxford:
334:References
322:Escutcheon
267:Reputation
118:Lord Derby
85:High Court
43:Background
971:Henry Joy
906:John Gore
285:The Times
74:Connaught
59:: he was
1359:Category
1166:Hugh Law
414:(1901).
53:Kilkenny
632:Athlone
595::
576:Hansard
561:. 1869.
252:Germany
248:Belgium
101:Athlone
548:p. 277
195:Galway
49:Galway
316:Crest
520:The
445:1910
430:2024
304:Arms
261:Bonn
250:and
158:, a
601:".
1376::
450:^
368:.
341:^
263:.
209:,
166:.
124:.
91:.
37:PC
732:e
725:t
718:v
597:"
432:.
29:.
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