James Murphy

James Murphy (1823–1901) was an Irish barrister and judge of the late nineteenth century. Career He was born at Kilfinane, County Limerick, the fifth son of Jeremiah Murphy. He matriculated at Trinity College Dublin in 1842 and took his bachelor's degree there in 1849. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1847 and was called to the Bar in 1849. He became Queen's Counsel in 1866. He was a superb advocate, noted for his "persistence, pathos and humour" in argument. He made his reputation as counsel for the prosecution in the Phoenix Park murders trials in 1883, and later that year was duly rewarded for the successful outcome of the trials (from the Crown's point of view) by appointment to the High Court. He sat first in the Common Pleas Division before being transferred to the King's Bench Division. He then transferred to the Exchequer Division, before finally returning to the King's Bench. He was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland in 1890. As a judge he was noted for dignity and efficiency rather than for profound legal learning. His judgments were generally considered to be right, and were rarely overturned on appeal, but very few of them were deemed worth reporting for their legal principles.