David Richard Pigot

Who was David Richard Pigot?

David Richard Pigot PC, KC was one of the leading Irish judges of his time.

Pigot was born in Kilworth, County Cork, the only son of John Pigot, a doctor of Physic. He went to school in Fermoy and graduated from the University of Dublin. Originally he intended to follow his father's profession and studied medicine in Edinburgh; he later decided on a career in law and was called to the Bar in 1826 and became King's Counsel in 1835. He represented Daniel O'Connell in the unsuccessful effort to prosecute him in 1831. He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1839 and elected to Parliament as member for Clonmel in the same year. He was Attorney-General for Ireland from 1840 to 1841. In 1846 he was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and held that office until his death. He was briefly considered for the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1868.

Both Ball in The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 and Delaney in his biography of Pigot's successor Christopher Palles praise Pigot highly as a judge of great intelligence, high principles and integrity; both agree that he had one obvious fault - his habit of inquiring into the most minute details of litigation, which greatly prolonged the length of hearings. Nonetheless Delaney noted that a Pigot judgement is always a strong authority to have on one's side.