Barry Yelverton, 1st Viscount Avonmore

Early life

He was the eldest son of Francis Yelverton of Kanturk, County Cork, and Elizabeth Barry of Kilbrin (now Ballyclogh, County Cork) He went to school in Charleville and attended Trinity College Dublin, where he took a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1757 and of Bachelor of Laws in 1761. His family lacked wealth and social position and he was for some years an assistant master under Andrew Buck in the Hibernian Academy.

In 1761, he married Mary Nugent (died 1802) of Clonlost, County Westmeath, a lady of some fortune, and was thus enabled to read for the Irish Bar, entering the Middle Temple.

He was called to the Bar in 1764: despite his lack of family connections his success in his profession was rapid, due to his legal ability, charm and remarkable eloquence, and he took silk eight years afterwards.

M.P.

He was returned to the Irish House of Commons as member for Donegal Borough from 1774 to 1776. In that year, Yelverton was elected for Belfast and Carrickfergus. He chose to sit for the latter and represented the constituency until 1784. Although few examples of his oratory survive, all contemporaries agree on his eloquence, which gave him a dominant position in the Commons.

Judicial career

He became Attorney-General for Ireland in 1782, and was elevated to the bench as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1783. He was created Baron Yelverton in 1795, and in 1800 Viscount Avonmore in the Peerage of Ireland. As Chief Baron he led the opposition to the proposal to increase the number of judges in each of the courts of common law from three to four, on the practical ground that four-judge courts often divide evenly and thus cannot reach an effective decision. Despite this common-sense view, the new judges were eventually appointed.

William Orr

In 1797 he attained a degree of infamy for presiding over what was widely regarded as a "show trial" which led to the execution of the United Irishman, William Orr (although Yelverton is said to have shed tears when passing the death sentence). Orr was charged with administering the United Irish oath to a soldier called Wheatly; this had recently become a capital offence. In fact it was generally believed that another man, William McKeever, administered the oath. Wheatly was the only witness for the prosecution, and many people believed that he had perjured himself, but despite a superb defence by John Philpott Curran, Orr was found guilty and hanged. Yelverton may have formed an early impression of Orr's guilt and acted on it- even his admirers admitted that as a judge he lacked impartiality.

Peter Finnerty, a journalist, was later convicted of seditious libel for publishing an attack on Yelverton over his conduct of Orr's trial, which did nothing to enhance the judge's reputation.

Death

He died in 1805 at his mansion, Fortfield House, Terenure, County Dublin, which he had built at great expense around 1785.

Personality

Among his colleagues at the Irish bar, Yelverton was a popular and charming companion: even John Philpot Curran, despite their frequent courtroom clashes, seems to have liked Yelverton personally. Curran and Yelverton were co-founders of the popular drinking club called The Monks of the Screw. Being a man of insignificant physical appearance, he owed his early successes to his remarkable eloquence, which made a great impression on his contemporaries; as a judge, he was inclined to take the view of the advocate rather than that of the impartial lawyer. Ball considered him one of the most learned judges of his time. While Edward Cooke called him "a brute", this simply reflects Cooke's low opinion of all Irish judges. Sir Jonah Barrington wrote that for all Yelverton's faults, and his lack of any real moral code, it was impossible not to like and respect him.

Politician

He gave his support to Henry Grattan and the Whigs during the greater part of his parliamentary career. He was a strong supporter of the demand for an independent Irish Parliament, but later changed his stance.

Yelverton's Act

He played a crucial role in the reforms which are collectively called the Irish Constitution of 1782. In particular he sponsored the Act 21 and 22 of George III, An Act to regulate the manner of passing bills and to prevent delays in summoning of Parliaments- which was popularly known as "Yelverton's Act". This radically modified Poynings' Law of 1495 by which all legislation to be passed by the Irish Parliament had to be drafted by the Privy Council of Ireland, then sent to the English Privy Council for approval. Under Yelverton's Act, the role of the Irish Privy Council was abolished and legislation was commenced in the normal way in the Irish Parliament, which for the last 17 years of its existence enjoyed a wide measure of independence.

Act of Union

In his latter days he became identified with the court party and voted for the Act of Union 1800, for which his viscounty was a reward. For this he was never forgiven by some of his former friends. Sir Jonah Barrington, who continued to regard Yelverton with affection and respect, regretted that this action should have destroyed his reputation forever; but he argued that such a mistake of judgment was understandable in a man who lacked worldly wisdom, and despite his many good qualities, did not have a strong moral sense.

He became a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1787.

Family

He had three sons and one daughter, and the title descended in the family.

Children of Barry Yelverton and Mary Nugent: