14 Facts About James Comyn

Sir James Peter Comyn was an Irish-born barrister and English High Court judge.

The scion of a prominent Nationalist legal family, Comyn was sent to England after they fell out with Eamon de Valera.

James Comyn was born at Beaufield House, Stillorgan, County Dublin, the son of Nationalist barrister James Comyn KC and of Mary Comyn; through his father he was the nephew of the barrister Michael Comyn KC.

However, the James Comyn brothers fell out with de Valera shortly before he came to power in 1932, and Michael James Comyn was passed over as Attorney-General of the Free State.

James Comyn then matriculated at New College, Oxford, where he read law, graduating with second-class honours.

James Comyn was called to the English bar by the Inner Temple in 1942, the Irish Bar in 1947, and the Hong Kong bar in 1969.

James Comyn practised in London and on the Western circuit, supplementing his earnings by teaching banking, a subject of which he knew nothing.

On one occasion, he rose in Lambeth County court to cross-examine a female defendant in an eviction case; just as James Comyn began by saying "Madam", the defendant opened her bag, took out a dead cat, and threw it at him.

James Comyn took silk in 1961, and acquired a large practice as a senior, appearing in many high-profile cases.

James Comyn was Recorder of Andover between 1964 and 1971, commissioner of assize for the Western Circuit in 1971, and a Recorder of the Crown Court between 1972 and 1977.

James Comyn was elected a bencher of the Inner Temple in 1968, and served as chairman of the Bar council from 1973 to 1974.

James Comyn had a reputation for leniency in sentencing, first acquired as Recorder of Andover, when he was nicknamed "Probation Comyn".

James Comyn wrote a number of books, including memoirs, light verse, and books on famous trials.

James Comyn married Anne Chaundler, a solicitor, in 1967; they had two children.