From the Dublin Daily Express,  22 September 1909:

“MR WALL AND HIS CLERK

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN POLICE COURT

An extraordinary scene occurred yesterday in the Northern Police Court, where Mr Wall, K.C., was the presiding magistrate.  The atmosphere of this Court has often been ruffled by breezes between Bench and Bar, and ‘scenes’ have not been uncommon, but on this occasion variety was lent to the judicial ebullition by the fact that it was the magistrate and his clerk (Mr Troddyn) who found themselves at arm’s length.

Two men who were brought up upon remand were in the dock, and evidence was being given against them to connect then with a charge of larceny of lead.  Mr Tobias, the prosecuting solicitor, was examining a witness, and Mr Wall requested the Clerk to read out a particular portion of his statement.

The Clerk read from the deposition which he had taken down, and when he reached a certain point Mr Wall exclaimed in an angry voice: ‘Ah! You have not taken down the evidence properly.’

The Clerk – I say I have.

Mr Wall – I say you have not.

The Clerk – I say I have sir.  I took down what the witness said, which is the ordinary way to take down a deposition.

Mr Wall – It is not the ordinary way.

The Clerk – I say it is, sir.

Mr Wall – You should not answer me in that impertinent manner.

The Clerk – I am not impertinent, sir.

Mr Wall – You leave the court, and get me another clerk.

The Clerk – All right, sir.

Mr Troddyn suited the action to the word by laying down his pen and walking out of Court to his office.  A painful silence close on half an hour ensued, during which Mr Wall remained on the Bench inactive.  There was no attempt to transact any other business, and everyone waited expectantly for the next outbreak.  The suspense was at last relieved when the Chief Clerk (Mr Colgan) entered the Court and had a conversation with Mr Wall on the Bench, towards the close of which the magistrate exclaimed, evidently referring to Mr Troddyn – ‘Call him back, and if he refuses to do it I’ll apply to the Chief Secretary.  That’s all about it.’

Mr Colgan continued standing beside the Clerk’s desk with a copy of the deposition in his hand.

Mr Wall (emphatically) – I want a clerk, Mr Colgan, please.

Mr Colgan in a low voice addressed an observation to the Bench, and just then Mr Troddyn re-entered Court, and Mr Wall addressing him said ‘Read the deposition as you have taken it down’.  Then turning round to Mr Colgan he said – ‘What I say is the thing was not taken down as it should have been.’

The Clerk – It was, sir, but I refuse to discuss the question any further.

Mr Tobias [prosecuting solicitor] made an observation which appeared to again excite Mr Wall, who, turning round to him, shouted out in a loud tone – ‘You don’t interfere, Mr Tobias.’

Mr Tobias resumed his seat.

The Clerk then read out the deposition in dispute and Mr Wall, addressing Mr Colgan in a lower key, said ‘You can go away now.’

The pieces of lead which were alleged to have been stolen were on the solicitors’ table, and Mr Wall, pointing to them, asked ‘Are these the pieces of lead?’ to which Mr Tobias answered that that was so.

Mr Wall – Are they marked ‘one’ and ‘two’?

Mr Tobias – Yes, your worship.

Mr Wall – Does that appear on the deposition?
Mr Tobias – It does.

The case was then proceeded with in a calmer atmosphere and the incident terminated.

The charge against the prisoners was then heard out, and they were sent for trial at sessions.”

Mr Wall may have been ailing at the time of the above incident – he died the following July, still in harness at the age of 75. Two years previously he had entered into a July-December wedding with Miss Gertrude Garland, a nurse who had cared for him during a severe illness.  In his youth, Mr Wall had taken monastic vows, but parted ways with his Order due to unhappy differences of opinion, subsequently bringing a successful undue influence action to recover property transferred to it.  Read all about his previous history here and here.

Mr Troddyn, from Maghera, Co Derry, continued as clerk in the Dublin Metropolitan Police Court, retiring from public service on their abolition in 1924 to take up the profession of barrister.  Newspaper reports of his cases show that he gained a very considerable practice very quickly.  One of his best-known cases was Bradley v Associated Cinemas Ltd, a case brought by a patron of the Savoy Cinema, Dublin, for damages to a coat alleged to have been stained by chocolate on one of its seats.  Mrs Bradley received £6.10s from the Circuit Court; Mr Troddyn, acting for the Savoy, succeeded in having this award overturned in the High Court.  Sadly, not long after this success, which would no doubt have resulted in increased instructions, as the case was widely reported, Mr Troddyn caught influenza and died. His death was marked by a double tragedy as his brother, WJ Troddyn, a noted public servant, caught the virus at his funeral, and died a few days later.

Courtrooms can be stressful places, and breezes often ruffle their atmosphere even today, but, fortunately for all concerned, the journalistic practice of reporting judicial ebullitions in detail no longer subsists!

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