Background
Moriarty was born in Mallow, County Cork, the second son of John Moriarty, a successful solicitor, and his wife Ellen O"Connell.
advocate judge lawyer solicitor
Moriarty was born in Mallow, County Cork, the second son of John Moriarty, a successful solicitor, and his wife Ellen O"Connell.
He was educated at Stonyhurst College and the University of Dublin, entered Middle Temple in 1875, and was called to the Irish Bar in 1877.
Moriarty became Queen"s Counsel in 1900, Third Serjeant in 1909 and First Serjeant in 1910. Despite a flourishing practice he was often in financial difficulties and went bankrupt in the 1890s. Although he supported the Liberals, unlike many of his colleagues he did not regard party politics as a path to advancement and showed little interest in acquiring a seat in the House of Commons, although he contemplated standing as member for Mallow in 1883.
In 1913 he was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, then Attorney-General for Ireland.
In 1913 he was made a Lord Justice of the Irish Court of Appeal but served less than two years before dying in May 1915. Sullivan thought that Moriarty, had he lived longer, would have been an outstanding judge, and this view seems to be borne out by his few reported decisions.
While his great skill was cross-examination – he was perhaps the most feared opposing counsel of his day – Moriarty was also a fine lawyer, as demonstrated by his learned argument in Ussher v. Ussher (1912) on whether a marriage conducted according to the Roman Catholic rite is valid in the absence of a second witness.
Even Healy admits that "he was an advocate of amazing ability".
He was a tall man of intimidating presence, which he used to full effect in court, and affected a monocle. National Bank v Silke
The report of an action in which Moriarty was a major figure, National Bank v Silke, certainly raises questions about his financial probity, since there is an uncontradicted statement by the defendant that Moriarty induced him to sign a cheque by fraudulent misrepresentation.
The picture he paints may well be exaggerated. Healy himself admits that Moriarty was a fine Law Officer during a period of acute political tension, which included the Dublin Lock-out and the formation of the Irish Volunteers. The view of Moriarty given by Serjeant Sullivan in his memoirs, if not as severe as Healy"s, is similar.
He recalled an occasion where the Irish Court of Appeal were driven to calling Moriarty "a disgrace to the profession".
Healy, despite his dislike of Moriarty, points out fairly that he was not a party to the case and therefore had no opportunity to defend himself.