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Name: SHERIDAN, Joseph Alfred, Sir

Birth Date: 12 Nov 1882 Spencer Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

Death Date: 26 Dec 1964 Brighton

Nationality: Irish

First Date: 1914

Profession: Chief Justice of Kenya in 1939, appointed 1934. Originally Magistrate 1913. Nyasaland 1908-13, Kenya 1913-29, Tanganyika Terr. 1929-34. President of the Irish Society in 1925 and 1935. Presided over trial of Sir Jock Delves Broughton

Area: Nairobi

Married: In Dublin 1913 Muriel Macaulay b. 1892 Ballina, Mayo, d. 13 July 1967 Westminster

Children: (Sir) Dermot Joseph (3 Oct 1914 Dublin-10 Oct 1978 Chelsea); Margaret Winifred (13 Oct 1916 Nakuru-1937 Waldshut, Germany); Roderick Gerald (24 Jan 1921 Nairobi-30 Mar 2013 London); Marie-Therese (Faller, Pollen, Addington 7th Viscount Sidmouth) (24 Feb 1924 Nairobi-6 Apr 2018 London); Helen (6 Aug 1931 London-11 Jan 2019 Bishop's Stortford)

Book Reference: Staff 39, Irish, Lytton, Debrett, KAD, Red 25, Colonial, Red 22, Gazette, Red 19

School: Castleknock College and Trinity College, Dublin. LLD (Dubl.), Barrister-at-Law (King's Inns Dublin)

General Information:

Irish - Joe hailed from the West of Ireland being born near Ballina of a very well known West of Ireland family. His brother, nick-named Dr. Naughty Sheridan, was for years in charge of the Mental Hospital in Castlebar.

Joe joined the British Colonial Service and was one of the early judges to be appointed to Kenya after it was declared a Colony in 1920. Both he and his wife were very musical which no doubt led to their friendship with the Figgis family. They were also renowned for their soirée evenings and contributions to home entertainment. Joe had a most successful career with the Colonial Service and after various postings to other British Colonies returned to Kenya in the mid 30s as Chief Justice by which time he had been knighted.

As Sir Joseph Sheridan Kt. he once again became President of the Irish Society in 1935. It is interesting to note that his son Dermot also joined the Colonial Service as a Judge and was knighted in his own right when he became Chief Justice of Uganda in the late 1960s. With the advent of the Idi Amin regime in 1972 Dermot fled to Kenya and was offered a judgeship in Mombasa by the Kenya Government where he continued on the bench until his death in 1979.

Sir Joseph had a reputation for being rather exacting on the bench. He was also a man of deep religious feeling but this did not stop him entertaining freely with songs and stories.

Debrett - Bar, King's Inns, Dublin 1907; entered Colonial Legal Service 1908; was Acting Judge, High Court, Nyasaland 1909-10, Assist. to Attorney-General, Nyasaland 1912-13, and Resident Magistrate, EA Protectorate 1913-20; appointed a Puisne Judge of Supreme Court of Kenya Colony (also a Judge of Court of Appeal of E. Africa) 1920, Ch. Justice of Tanganyika Territory 1929, and Ch. Justice, Supreme Court, Kenya Colony 1934 (also sat as Pres. of Court of Appeal of EA); retired 1946; Chm. Masai Riots Claim Commn. 1918-19

KAD 1922 - 3rd Puisne Judge, Nairobi

Gazette 4/2/1914 - Arrived on 1st Appointment - Magistrate - 21/1/1914

Red Book 1919 - Magistrate - J.A. Sheridan

Wikipedia Born in County Mayo, Ireland in 1882. He was educated at Castleknock College and Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar at King's Inns in Ireland in 1907 and thereafter entered the British Colonial Service in Nyasaland in 1908 as a junior clerk. In 1912, he was appointed assistant to the Attorney-General of Nyasaland and remained in the post until 1913 when he moved to the East Africa Protectorate to become a Resident Magistrate. In 1919, he was made a Judge on the East Africa Court of Appeal. The following year, he was promoted to a Judgeship on the Supreme Court for Eastern Africa. In 1929, he left Kenya to take up the position as Chief Justice of Tanganyika. He was knighted in the 1932 King's Birthday Honours; returning to Kenya in 1934 to succeed Sir Jacob Barth as Chief Justice of Kenya. He retired as Chief Justice in 1946 and died in December 1964.

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