Richard Armstrong (politician)

Richard Armstrong
Richard Armstrong; QC
Member of Parliament ; for Sligo Borough
	In office; 15 July 1865 – 20 November 1868
Preceded by	Francis Macdonogh
Succeeded by	Lawrence E. Knox
Personal details
Born	10 May 1815; County Armagh, Ireland
Died	26 August 1880 (aged 65)
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Meurant
Children	William, Lily
Parents	William Armstrong ; Eliza Armstrong (née Steacy).
Residence	32 St Stephen's Green, Dublin
Alma mater	Trinity College, Dublin

Richard Armstrong QC (1815 – 26 August 1880)[1] was an Irish Liberal politician, and barrister.[2]

He was the son of William Armstrong, an engineer by profession, of Roxborough, Co. Armagh, and his wife Eliza Armstrong (née Steacy).

After graduating in law from Trinity College, Dublin, Armstrong was called to the bar in 1839 and then, in 1854, became Queen's Counsel.[3]

He was considered one of the finest Irish advocates of his time, with numerous courtroom triumphs to his credit, most notably the Yelverton case.

Armstrong was elected MP as a Liberal candidate for Sligo Borough in the 1865 general election and held the seat until 1868 when he stood down.[4]

He was the First Serjeant-at-law of Ireland from 1866 until his death, having previously served as Third Serjeant from 1861 to 1865, and briefly as Second Serjeant in 1865. A very tall man, he was nicknamed "the Big Serjeant" while his diminutive colleague Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet was "the Little Serjeant".[5]

Armstrong married Elizabeth Meurant in 1847, they had at least one son, William Armstrong BL (1848-1899)[6] who married Alice Arundel, and one daughter, Lily (1952-1931) who befriended John Ruskin while she attended Winnington Hall, and was the subject of a watercolour by him, and was lily in his Ethics of Dust. Lily married Lt. William T. S. Kevill-Davies.[2][7]

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
Coffey, Sean (9 May 2015). "Election time". IRLchess. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
Newmann, Kate. "Richard Armstrong (1815 - 1880)". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Ulster History Circle. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
Healy, Maurice The Old Munster Circuit (1939) Mercier Press reissue 1979 p.70
Photo William Armstrong Gravestone - Mount Jerome Cemetery Dublin.
Yeats, William Butler (2010). Archibald, Douglas; O'Donnell, William (eds.). The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Vol. III: Autobiographies. Simon and Schuster. p. 430. ISBN 9781451603217.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Mr Richard Armstrong

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Francis Macdonogh	Member of Parliament for Sligo Borough 1865 – 1868	Succeeded by Lawrence E. Knox

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[1] Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)

[irlchess-2] Coffey, Sean (9 May 2015). "Election time". IRLchess. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

[3] Newmann, Kate. "Richard Armstrong (1815 - 1880)". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Ulster History Circle. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

[walker-4] Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

[5] Healy, Maurice The Old Munster Circuit (1939) Mercier Press reissue 1979 p.70

[6] Photo William Armstrong Gravestone - Mount Jerome Cemetery Dublin.

[7] Yeats, William Butler (2010). Archibald, Douglas; O'Donnell, William (eds.). The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Vol. III: Autobiographies. Simon and Schuster. p. 430. ISBN 9781451603217.