Obituaries

Robert Porter obituary: Catholic magistrate known for fairness

One of the North’s longest serving Resident Magistrates died aged 89

Robert Porter: a link to the times when solicitors could qualify by apprenticeships

Sat Jan 4 2020 - 01:42

Robert Porter
Born May 3rd 1930
Died December 8th 2019

Robert Porter, who died in his native Castlederg in his 90th year after a period of ill-health, was a man of humanity and wit who served for 21 years as a Resident Magistrate in the North. At the time of his retirement in the late 1990s he was one of the North’s longest-serving Resident Magistrates. When appointed, he had been one of the youngest.

He had also been one of the few Catholics on the bench in the 1970s and 1980s, which put him in danger from the IRA. During his time on the bench, several Catholic magistrates and judges were killed or attacked.

Porter lived very near the Border and knew that when going out to work in the morning he might not come back. His career meant being under permanent police guard. His house was attacked a number of times but it was never clear whether he or his police guards were the target.

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Despite that he remained a magistrate, believing that there needed to be Catholics on the bench to give it balance.

Porter was also a link to the times when solicitors could qualify by apprenticeships and when Petty Sessions courts sat in many small Northern towns.

As a magistrate, he was considered fair with a reputation for being lenient in sentencing, often to the prosecution’s displeasure. He was always keen to give defendants a chance if he thought them deserving. He would, though, take no nonsense.

Petty Sessions

A favoured tactic was sometimes to send convicted defendants to cells over lunch, giving the appearance they faced imprisonment. In the afternoon they would be sent on their way with a fine or suspended sentence – and a taste of what imprisonment entailed.

He was proud to have sat on the bench in all the North’s counties, and in some Petty Sessions that are long abolished.

Robert Frederick Porter was born in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, eldest of three sons to Robert Porter and his wife Annie (née O’Donnell). His father was the inspector on the Victoria Bridge to Castlederg tramway, his mother a Donegal woman. After primary and secondary schooling he became a law clerk with a firm of solicitors in Strabane and qualified as a solicitor by apprenticeship. He also studied at Queen’s University, Belfast.

He had initially considered becoming a doctor. However, his mother suggested law as, at that time, there was no solicitor in Castlederg.

The law was his interest as much as his career. He particularly enjoyed the intricacies of drink-driving contests. Aspects of the licensing laws irritated him. He felt they resulted in crowds being put onto the street at the same time of night, having been drinking, providing a recipe for trouble.

In presentation of decisions he belonged to a generation meticulous in grammar, spelling and handwriting. Outside his work, he contributed to his community. As Chair of Castlederg Development Committee, he helped have a leisure centre built in the town.

He is survived by his daughter Lisa-Anne (Campbell) and son-in-law Pádraig. He was pre-deceased by his wife Eileen and brothers Donald and Desmond.

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