Sir Walter Boyd, 1st Baronet

Sir Walter Boyd, 1st Baronet (28 January 1833 -25 June 1918) was an Irish judge, who was also a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. After serving for many years as the Irish Bankruptcy judge, he was transferred to the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland.^[1] His friend Maurice Healy describes him with great respect and affection in his memoir The Old Munster Circuit.

Boyd's eldest son Sir Walter Herbert Boyd, 2nd Baronet is still remembered in the sailing world as the designer of the Howth 17th Footer yacht, while his second son Dr. Cecil Boyd was a noted rugby player.

Background

He was born at what is now Walworth Road in Portobello, Dublin, the fourth son of Walter Boyd and his wife Jane Macrory of Castledawson, County Londonderry.^[2] He was educated at the University of Dublin where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1855 and Doctor of Laws in 1864.^[3] He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1854 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1856. He took silk in 1877 and became Queen's Advocate for Ireland the following year. In politics he was a staunch Unionist.

He did not enjoy much of a reputation as a lawyer, but following in the great Irish tradition of John Philpot Curran and Daniel O'Connell, he was noted for his absolute fearlessness in Court. Maurice Healy recalls a well-known story that Mr Justice O'Brien angrily asked him: where was Dr Boyd's^[4] respect for the Court? Boyd replied that the Court was receiving the exact degree of respect it deserved.^[5]

Judge

In 1885 he was appointed the Irish Bankruptcy judge.^[6] Healy thought that the office suited him well: while he was not regarded as an especially good lawyer, he had a great deal of common sense, and an ability to detect any form of commercial dishonesty. He was also, according to Healy, a man of great physical courage, which was an important consideration at a time when the level of agrarian unrest in Ireland meant that his life might be threatened (and for several years he had two policemen assigned to act as his bodyguards).^[7] He had a remarkable gift for detecting fraud; unfortunately, in Healy's view, his experience as a judge led him to assume that almost all human beings are dishonest by nature, and although he did not lose his essential kindness or good humour, he became something of a cynic.^[8] "I don't want evidence, I want the truth!" he once thundered at counsel who had unwisely objected to the judge admitting hearsay evidence.^[9]

In 1897 the reorganisation of the High Court led to his transfer to the King's Bench Division.^[10] Maurice Healy states that the universal affection and respect in which the Bar held him meant that he could always rely on the support of counsel on both sides of any case to overcome any deficiencies in his own knowledge of the law.^[11] He was also fortunate that the quality of his judicial colleagues was very high; and when he was sitting with more learned judges like Christopher Palles he would defer to their greater expertise.

He dealt with very few criminal cases until his last few years on the Bench. Towards the end of his career he acquired a reputation for imposing exceptionally severe sentences: some of the sentences he handed down while holding the Munster assize in 1910 were so harsh that, according to Healy, it became popularly known as "the Mad Assize".^[12] On the other hand, his great kindness of heart meant that he was always willing to recommend a reprieve from the death penalty, if he thought that there were any mitigating circumstances.^[13]

His short judgement in the probate case, Crofts v Beamish,^[14] where three High Court judges were unable to agree on the interpretation of a will, gives a flavour of his robust style and forceful personality. Boyd admitted frankly that he had no idea what the testator meant, and added : "I do not think he himself knew what he meant. More extraordinary words I have never come across."

Last years

Boyd retired in 1916, and was created a Baronet,^[15] and a member of the Irish Privy Council.^[16] He lived at Howth House, Howth, where he pursued his great love of sailing, even into extreme old age. He was one of the stalwarts of the Howth Yacht Club. In 1897 his son Walter Herbert Boyd designed the Howth 17th Footer, now the oldest one-design keelboat racing class in the world. His father owned one of the first 17th footers, the Aura, which was launched in 1899: he was still sailing her when he was over 80.

He died on 25 June 1918.

Family

In 1862 he married Anne Catherine Anderson.^[17] They had six children, including Sir Walter Herbert Boyd, 2nd Baronet, Colonel Henry Boyd, and Dr. Cecil Boyd.^[18]

Character

The best portrait we have of Boyd's character is by Maurice Healy; despite a considerable difference in age, a warm friendship existed between the two men. In his famous memoir The Old Munster Circuit Healy recalls Boyd as " a warrior":^[19] a man of boundless vitality and humour. As a judge he lacked the legal eminence of some of his colleagues, but he was blessed with great common sense, a shrewd if somewhat cynical knowledge of human nature, and a strong sense of justice. Despite some faults and prejudices Healy notes that he was "beloved by all".^[20]

A sketch by Thomas Bodkin shows Boyd as a gaunt elderly man with a flowing white beard.

References

1. Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol. 2 p.380
2. Ball p.380
3. Ball p.380
4. A reference to his Doctorate in law, not a medical degree.
5. Healy, Maurice The Old Munster Circuit 1939 Mercier Press Reissue 1979 p.32
6. Ball p.380
7. Healy pp.30-31
8. Healy p.30
9. Healy p.116
10. Ball p.380
11. Healy p.31
12. Healy p.103
13. Healy pp.108-9
14. [1905] 2 I.R. 345
15. The London Gazette: no. 29647. p. 6494. 30 June 1916.
16. Ball p.380
17. Mosley ed. Burke's Peerage 107th Edition 2003 Vol.1 p.468
18. Burke's Peerage p.468
19. Healy p.30
20. Healy pp.30-31