Attorney-General for Ireland

The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the duties of the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General for Ireland were taken over by the Attorney General of Ireland. The office of Solicitor-General for Ireland was abolished at the same time for reasons of economy. This led to repeated complaints from the first Attorney General of Ireland, Hugh Kennedy, about the "immense volume of work" which he was now forced to deal with single-handedly.[1]

Michael Morris, later Lord Killanin, Attorney-General for Ireland from 1866 to 1867
Philip Tisdall, Attorney-General for Ireland from 1760 to 1777, portrait by Angelica Kauffmann

History of the Office edit

The first record of the office of Attorney General for Ireland, some 50 years after the equivalent office was established in England, is in 1313, when Richard Manning or Mannyn was appointed King's Attorney, or "King's Serjeant who follows the pleas" (the title Attorney General was not used until the 1530s),[2] at a salary of 5 marks a year. The Attorney General was initially junior to the serjeant-at-law, but since the titles King's Serjeant and King's Attorney were often used interchangeably, as in the case of Richard Manning, it can be difficult to establish who held which office at any given time.[2] Thomas Dowdall, for example, like Manning before him, was called Serjeant-at-law and King's Attorney in the 1460s at almost the same time.[3] Early holders of the office, including Manning, were permitted to take private clients.[2] Manning is on record as acting as attorney for Meiler Kendal in 1310, prior to his appointment as Attorney-General.[4] Casey states that the records cast very little light on the duties of the Attorney-General in the early years, possibly a reflection of his inferior status compared to the Serjeant-at-law.[2]

There are at least two references to a Deputy Attorney-General.[5] The first was in 1385, when Robert Hemynborough, or de Hemynborgh, was appointed Attorney-General "with power to appoint a Deputy".[6] Two centuries later, Edward Butler, who became Attorney-General in 1582, had acted as Deputy from 1578 to 1580.[5] Apart from these two examples, there is no evidence that the Deputy Attorney-General was a permanent position, nor do we know why it was considered necessary to appoint Butler to this office (pressure of work may be the explanation).

The early Attorneys-General might be licensed to appear in certain courts only. William Rouse (1342), Peter de Leycestre (1357), William Lynnoor (1359), Henry Mitchell (1372) and John Barry (1401) were all given a patent to plead in the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Exchequer.[6] John White was described in 1426 as "King's Attorney in the King's Bench and the Exchequer".[7] Robert le Hore in 1379 was appointed King's Attorney to plead "before the justices of the Bench (this was not the Couurt of Bench but an early name for the Court of Common Pleas) and the Treasurer and chamberlains of the Exchequer".[8] In 1499 Clement Fitzleones, less typically, was appointed "King's Attorney in all Courts".[9] The Serjeant-at-law, by contrast, was generally licensed to appear in all the Royal Courts, although John Haire in 1392 was described as "Serjeant-at-law of our Lord the King in the Common Pleas".[3]

Perhaps because the Attorney-General was in the earlier centuries junior to the Serjeant-at-law, some holders of the office were probably not as highly qualified as the Serjeant. Thomas Archbold (or Galmole), appointed Attorney-General in 1478, was a goldsmith by profession, and, perhaps more suitably, was also Master of the Royal Mint in Ireland.

The Attorney-General and the Serjeant-at-law edit

In 1537 there was a short-lived attempt, following the report of a royal commission, to expand the role of the Attorney General, and abolish the office of King's Serjeant. The proposal was defeated largely through the firm opposition of the Serjeant-at-law, Patrick Barnewall, who argued that pleading cases on behalf of the Crown was and always had been the proper task of the Serjeant-at-law: "the King's Serjeant has always used to maintain the Pleas.... for this two hundred years and more". Why the more junior office was favoured over the much longer-established office of Serjeant is not clear.

From the early 1660s, due largely to the personal prestige of Sir William Domville (AG 1660–1686), the Attorney General became the chief legal adviser to the Crown. In certain periods, notably during the reign of Elizabeth I, who thought poorly of most of her Irish-born law officers, the English Crown adopted a policy of choosing only English lawyers for this office, and also the Solicitor-General.[2] Her successor King James I in 1620, on the appointment of Sir William Ryves, noted that the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General "have always been of the King's choice and special nomination",[6] and that they were the Crown servants in whom the King places, above his other learned counsel and officers of the Court: "his more special trust regarding the preservation of his revenue and possessions". It is interesting that the King here seems to place the Attorney and the Solicitor above the Serjeant-at-law in importance.[6]

Attorney-General in politics edit

The Attorney-General, in later centuries at least,[2] was always a member of the Privy Council of Ireland (in earlier centuries as a rule only the Serjeant-at-law attended the Council, but Stephen Roche, Attorney General 1441–44, attended the Great Council of 1441).[2]

A strong Attorney, like Philip Tisdall, William Saurin, or Francis Blackburne, could exercise great influence over the Dublin administration. Tisdall (AG 1760–1777), was for much of his tenure as Attorney General also the Government leader in the Irish House of Commons, and a crucial member of the administration. Saurin (AG 1807–1822) was regarded for many years as the effective head of the Dublin Government, until his career was ended by his opposition to Catholic Emancipation.[2] In 1841 Blackburne (AG 1830–1834, 1841–1842), on being challenged about a proposed appointment within his own office, said firmly that he "would not tolerate a refusal to ratify the appointment".[10]

The office of Attorney General was described as being "a great mixture of law and general political reasoning".[10]

Attorneys-General for Ireland, 1313–1922 edit

14th century edit

  • Richard Manning: appears as a barrister in private practice in 1310; appointed "King's Attorney" or King's Serjeant for Ireland 1313.[3] Still in office in 1327.[11]
  • William de Woodworth: c. 1327[3]
  • Thomas of Westham: 1334[2]
  • William Rouse: 17 April 1342[12]
  • William le Petit: 1343
  • Nicholas Lumbard, or Lombard: 1345
  • Robert de Emeldon: 1348
  • Robert Preston, 1st Baron Gormanston: 1355
  • John de Leycestre, or Lecestre: 1357[6]
  • William Lynnoor: 12 February 1359[13]
  • Henry Mitchell: 1372;[6] promoted to Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer 1376
  • Robert Hore, or le Hore: 1379,[Note 1] superseded 1381. He appears to have served a second term in 1383–84, as he was re-appointed on 21 October 1383[14] and the Close Rolls have an order to pay his arrears of salary for those two years.[15] On 28 July 1385 he was ordered not to "interefere" with the Office of Attorney-General any further.[16]
  • Thomas Malalo: 15 January 1381[Note 1][17]
  • Robert Hemynborgh or de Hemynborough: 18 July 1385[Note 1] (first term). He had the power to appoint a Deputy, one of the very few references in the records to such an office. His patent of office was renewed in 1407 on the same terms. He was to receive the same salary as Henry Mitchell had i.e. 1 pound and 1 shilling.

15th century edit

Name Term of office Reason for leaving office
William Tynbegh 20 January 1400, having stepped down as a judge[Note 1][18]
John Barry appointed 16 February 1401;[Note 1][19] still in office in 1404 [20]
Robert de Hemynborough appointed for a second term in 1407, in the same manner as King Richard II had previously granted the office to him.[21]
John Whyte or White appointed 20 August 1412[22] re-appointed 4 October 1413[23] re-appointed 19 October 1422;[Note 1][24] still in office 1426, when he was described as "the King's Attorney in the Exchequer"[7]
Stephen Roche 1441
William Sutton 1444[25]
Robert FitzRery 1450[26]
Thomas Dowdall 1463[Note 2]
Nicholas Sutton 1471 or 1472[27][28]
Thomas Archbold 1478 [29]
Thomas Cusacke 1480[30]
Walter St. Lawrence 1491[31][32]
Clement Fitzleones 1499[33][34][35] By 1505 Appointed as King's Serjeant[35]

16th century edit

incomplete - Smyth in his book Chronicle of the Irish Law Officers (London, 1839) noted that the destruction of many State records made it impossible to compile a full list of holders of the office. With the exception of one roll for the 6th year of Henry VIII (1514-5), the patent rolls for the reign of that monarch were extant from the 22nd year of his reign (1530-31), at the time of the Four Courts fire in 1922.[36][37]

Name Portrait Term of office Reason for leaving office
John Barnewall, 3rd Baron Trimlestown 1504 1504 Appointed as Solicitor-General for Ireland and King's Serjeant
Nicholas Fitzsimons 1504 or later[38] 1514 Appointed third Baron of the Exchequer
Unknown
Thomas St. Lawrence 18 August 1532[Note 1][39] 12 August 1535
[Note 3][Note 1][40][41]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland)
Robert Dillon August 1535[Note 1] 17 January 1554
[Note 3][Note 1][42][43] also [44][45]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland)
Barnaby Skurloke or Skurlog 1554[Note 1][46][47][48]
re-appointed 26 January 1559[49][50]
1559 Dismissed
James Barnewall 3 September 1559[Note 1][51]
Lucas Dillon 8 November 1566[Note 1][52] 17 May 1570
[Note 3][Note 4][53]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
Edward Fitz-Symon 4 June 1570[Note 1][54] 21 February 1574
[Note 3][Note 1][55]
Appointed as King's Serjeant
John Bathe 21 February 1574[Note 1][56] 1577 Removed from office
Thomas Snagge 13 September 1577[Note 4][57] 1580[58] "returned to England in 1580, when he was appointed serjeant-at-law"[59]
Christopher Flemyng, or Fleming 9 September 1580[Note 1][60] Death
Edmund or Edward Butler 8 August 1582[Note 1][61] 20 September 1583
[Note 3][Note 1][62]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland)
Charles Calthorpe, afterwards Sir Charles 22 June 1584[Note 1][63] 19 April 1606
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)

17th century edit

Name Portrait Term of office Reason for leaving office
Sir John Davys
or Davies

MP for County Fermanagh (1613)
  19 April 1606[Note 4] 1619 Resigned
Sir William Ryves 30 October 1619[Note 1] 7 August 1636
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland)
Richard Osbaldeston
of Gray's Inn
7 August 1636[Note 4] June 1640 Death
Sir Thomas Tempest 20 July 1640[Note 4]
William Basil 18 July 1649[Note 1] 24 January 1659[Note 3] Appointed as Chief Justice of the Upper Bench for Ireland
Robert Shapcote March 1659 May 1659 Deprived of the position when the Rump Parliament was restored
Unknown May 1659 February 1660
Robert Shapcote February 1660[Note 5] May 1660 Elected as MP for Tiverton in the Parliament of England in the Convention Parliament (1660), which assembled for the first time on 25 April 1660.
Sir William Domville
MP for County Dublin (1661-66)
23 June 1660[Note 1] Retired
Sir Richard Nagle
MP for County Cork (1689)
31 December 1686[Note 4] 3 October 1691[Note 6][Note 7] Jacobite Ireland ceased to exist due to the Treaty of Limerick
Sir John Temple 30 October 1690[Note 4][Note 8] Retired
Robert Rochfort
MP for County Westmeath
  10 May 1695[Note 4] 12 June 1707
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer

18th century edit

Name Portrait Term of office Reason for leaving office Subsequent peerage, if any
Alan Brodrick
MP for Cork City
  12 June 1707[Note 4] 24 December 1709
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland Viscount Midleton
John Forster
MP for Dublin City
24 December 1709[Note 4] Dismissed[Note 9][64] -
Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland, 1714
Sir Richard Levinge, Bt
MP for Longford Borough (to 1713)
MP for Gowran (1713)
MP for Kilkenny City (from 1713)
4 June 1711[Note 4] Dismissed[Note 10][65][Note 11][66] -
Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland, 1721
George Gore
MP for Longford Borough
3 Nov 1714 13 May 1720
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
John Rogerson
MP for Dublin City
14 May 1720[Note 4] 3 April 1727
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland
Thomas Marlay
MP for Lanesborough
5 May 1727[Note 4] 29 September 1730
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
Robert Jocelyn
MP for Newtownards
  29 September 1730[Note 4] 30 August 1739
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland Viscount Jocelyn
John Bowes
MP for Taghmon
  3 Sep 1739[Note 4] 21 December 1741
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer Baron Bowes
St George Caulfeild
MP for Tulsk
23 Dec 1741 [Note 4] 27 August 1751
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland
Warden Flood
MP for Callan
27 August 1751[Note 4] 31 July 1760
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland
Philip Tisdall
MP for Dublin University (to 1776)
MP for Armagh Borough (1768–69 and 1776–77)
  31 July 1760[Note 4] 11 September 1777 Death
John Scott
MP for Mullingar
  17 Oct 1777[Note 4] Dismissed[Note 12][67]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland, 1784
Earl of Clonmell
Barry Yelverton
MP for Carrickfergus
2 July 1782[Note 4] 29 November 1783
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer Viscount Avonmore
John Fitzgibbon
MP for Kilmallock
  29 Nov 1783[Note 4] 13 June 1789
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland Earl of Clare
Arthur Wolfe
MP for Coleraine (to 1790)
MP for Jamestown (1790-1797)
MP for Dublin City (1797-1798)
  16 July 1789[Note 4] 13 June 1798
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland Viscount Kilwarden
John Toler
MP for Gorey
  26 June 1798[Note 4] 22 October 1800
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland Earl of Norbury

19th century edit

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Reason for leaving office
John Stewart
MP for Bangor (Parliament of Ireland)
(to 31 December 1800)

MP for Tyrone (UK Parliament)
(from 1 March 1802)
9 December 1800
[Note 4]
Retired/resigned[Note 13][68] citing [69]
Standish O'Grady[Note 14][70] 28 May 1803
[Note 4][71]
5 October 1805
[Note 3][Note 4]
Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
William Plunket
MP for Midhurst (1807)
  15 October 1805
[Note 4]
Independent
Whig[Note 15][72] Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1822 - see below
William Saurin 15 May 1807
[Note 4]
Tory[Note 16][73][Note 17][74][75] Dismissed
William Plunket
MP for Dublin University
  15 January 1822 18 June 1827[Note 1] Whig[Note 18][72] Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland
Henry Joy 18 June 1827[Note 1] 6 January 1831
[Note 1]
Tory[Note 19][76] Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
Edward Pennefather 23 December 1830
[77][Note 20][78]
Tory[Note 21][79] Declined to serve
Francis Blackburne   11 January 1831
[Note 1][Note 22]
Tory[Note 23][80][Note 24][81]
Conservative[82] Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1841 - see below
Louis Perrin
MP for Cashel
29 April 1835[Note 1] 31 August 1835[Note 1] Whig Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland)
Michael O'Loghlen
MP for Dungarvan
31 August 1835[Note 1] Whig Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland)
John Richards 10 November 1836[Note 1] Whig Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland)
Stephen Woulfe
MP for Cashel
3 February 1837[Note 1] Whig Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
Nicholas Ball
MP for Clonmel
11 July 1838[Note 1] Whig Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
Maziere Brady 23 February 1839[Note 1] Whig Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
David Richard Pigot
MP for Clonmel
11 August 1840 Whig Ministry left office - he was appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1846
Francis Blackburne   23 September 1841 Conservative Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
Thomas Berry Cusack Smith
MP for Ripon, 1843-6
1 November 1842 Conservative Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
Richard Wilson Greene   2 February 1846 Conservative Ministry left office - he was appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1852
Richard Moore 16 July 1846 Whig Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland)
James Henry Monahan 21 December 1847 Whig Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland
John Hatchell
MP for Windsor
23 September 1850 Whig Ministry left office
Joseph Napier
MP for Dublin University
February 1852 Conservative Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1858
Abraham Brewster   10 January 1853[83] Peelite Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery in Ireland in 1866
William Keogh
MP for Athlone
  March 1855 Peelite Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
John David Fitzgerald
MP for Ennis
March 1856 Whig Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1859 - see below
James Whiteside
MP for Dublin University
  February 1858 Conservative Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench for Ireland in 1866
John David Fitzgerald
MP for Ennis
June 1859 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland)
Rickard Deasy
MP for County Cork
February 1860 Liberal Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland)
Thomas O'Hagan
MP for Tralee (1863-65)
  1861 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
James Anthony Lawson
MP for Portarlington
1865 Liberal Ministry left office - he was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) in December 1868
John Edward Walsh
MP for Dublin University
25 July 1866 Conservative Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
Michael Morris
MP for Galway Borough
  1 November 1866 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland)
Hedges Eyre Chatterton
MP for Dublin University
1867 Conservative Appointed Vice-Chancellor of Ireland
Robert Warren
MP for Dublin University
1867 Conservative Appointed the Irish Probate Judge
John Thomas Ball
MP for Dublin University
  1868 Conservative Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1874 - see below
Edward Sullivan
MP for Mallow
12 December 1868 Liberal Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
Charles Robert Barry[Note 25]   26 January 1870 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland)
Richard Dowse
MP for Londonderry City
  13 January 1872 Liberal Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland)
Christopher Palles[Note 26]   5 November 1872 10 February 1874[Note 3] Liberal Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer
John Thomas Ball
MP for Dublin University
  12 March 1874 Conservative Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Henry Ormsby 21 January 1875 Conservative Appointed as Judge of the Landed Estates Court
George Augustus Chichester May[Note 27] 27 November 1875 Conservative Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench for Ireland
Edward Gibson
MP for Dublin University
  15 February 1877 Conservative Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1885
Hugh Law
MP for County Londonderry
10 May 1880 Liberal Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
William Moore Johnson
MP for Mallow
17 November 1881 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
Andrew Marshall Porter
MP for County Londonderry
3 January 1883 Liberal Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
John Naish[Note 28] 19 December 1883 Liberal Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Samuel Walker
MP for County Londonderry
1885 Liberal Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1886 - see below
Hugh Holmes
MP for Dublin University
3 July 1885 Conservative Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1886 - see below
Samuel Walker[Note 29] February 1886 Liberal Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1892
Hugh Holmes
MP for Dublin University
August 1886 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
John George Gibson
MP for Liverpool Walton
1887 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
Peter O'Brien   1888 Conservative Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
Dodgson Hamilton Madden
MP for Dublin University
1890 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
John Atkinson   1892[84] Conservative Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1895 - see below
The Macdermot [Note 30] August 1892 Liberal Ministry left office (he died before his party regained office)
John Atkinson
MP for North Londonderry
  8 July 1895 Conservative Appointed to the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

20th century edit

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Reason for leaving office
James Campbell
MP for Dublin University
  4 December 1905 Conservative Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1916 - see below
Richard Cherry
MP for Liverpool Exchange (1906–10)
  22 December 1905 Liberal Appointed as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Ireland
Redmond Barry
MP for North Tyrone (1907–11)
  2 December 1909 Liberal Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Charles O'Connor 26 September 1911 Liberal Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland
Ignatius O'Brien   24 June 1912 Liberal Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Thomas Molony 10 April 1913 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
John Moriarty 20 June 1913 Liberal Appointed as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Ireland
Jonathan Pim 1 July 1914 Liberal Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
John Gordon
MP for South Londonderry
8 June 1915 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
James Campbell
MP for Dublin University
  9 April 1916 Conservative Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
James O'Connor 8 January 1917 Irish Nationalist Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
Arthur Samuels
MP for Dublin University
7 April 1918 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland
Denis Henry
MP for South Londonderry
6 July 1919 Conservative Appointed as the first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, 15 August 1921
Thomas Watters Brown
MP for North Down
5 August 1921 16 November 1921 Conservative Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, 8 February 1922

The office was vacant from 16 November 1921[85] and succeeded by the Attorney General of the Irish Free State on 31 January 1922. The office of Attorney General for Northern Ireland had been created in June 1921.

Notes, references and sources edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Date of patent
  2. ^ Some sources refer to him as King's Serjeant, but the roles of Serjeant and Attorney at the time were easily confused.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Date of appointment to office in next column
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Date of Privy Seal
  5. ^ Restored to the position when the secluded members of the Rump Parliament were allowed in in February 1660
  6. ^ Date of the Treaty of Limerick
  7. ^ Attorney-General for Jacobite Ireland only after the appointment of Sir John Temple as Attorney-General for Williamite Ireland on 30 October 1690
  8. ^ Attorney-General for Williamite Ireland only until the Treaty of Limerick of 3 October 1691
  9. ^ "[W]hen the Irish administration came under the domination of the ultra-tory lord chancellor, Sir Constantine Phipps, he was dropped as attorney general in 1711 and emerged as one of the principal leaders of the opposition."
  10. ^ "In 1714 he was replaced as Irish attorney general in the whig purge which followed the accession of George I."
  11. ^ "on the accession of George I in 1714 was superseded as attorney-general, but was offered the place of a justice of the King’s Bench, which he declined"
  12. ^ "With the collapse of Lord North's government in March 1782, he was dismissed from office. Scott was generally believed to have known that he would be removed and to have decided to provoke his dismissal by asserting during the debates on legislative independence that Great Britain had no right to bind Ireland by acts of parliament"
  13. ^ "Disappointed at not being named chief justice of the king's bench, he retired and was created a baronet on 21 June 1803. King George III ascribed his resignation to ill-health and his weaknesses as a law officer."
  14. ^ "nor was he ever in the Irish or British House of Commons"
  15. ^ "In October 1805 Pitt made Plunket attorney-general, and Plunket retained that office in the ‘ministry of all the talents’. Hitherto, with official approval, he had treated the post as professional and non-political. Now it became a party and parliamentary one. He ... was urged by Lord Grenville to enter the House of Commons. ... early in 1807. He ... became an adherent of Lord Grenville ... Having identified himself with the whigs, he declined the request of the new tory administration that he retain the attorney-generalship."
  16. ^ "With all his present Toryism, he seems to have been then a Whig"
  17. ^ "something of a republican by nature, but fashioned by circumstances into a Tory"
  18. ^ he was one of the "Grenvillites who [in 1822] joined Liverpool's government"
  19. ^ "was [after 1798] allied with the tory party"
  20. ^ However, Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland does not mention him, and neither Elrington Ball's The Judges in Ireland, Volume 2, page 354 nor Pennefather's article in the Dictionary of National Biography mentions service in this office. "[T]he attorney-general-ship was ... offered to ... Edward Pennefather ... and on his declining to serve in a reform administration it was given on Pennefather's advice to ... Francis Blackburne".
  21. ^ "was a conservative in politics"
  22. ^ Cook & Keith (1975, p. 4) states that the office was vacant under Peel's Conservative government of 1834-35. However, Blackburne's article in the Dictionary of National Biography states that "He continued in that office until 1835, under Grey and during the initial short administrations of Melbourne and Peel." Also Blackburne, Edward (1874). Life of the Right Hon. Francis Blackburne: Late Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Macmillan and Co. p. 194. states that "Sir Robert Peel requested Blackburne to retain his office ... The Peel administration was destined to be of but short duration ... Melbourne was recalled to power ... Blackburne retired from office"
  23. ^ "though known to be a tory ... with a view to the Irish administration having a broad political base"
  24. ^ "was in politics a conservative"
  25. ^ He had unsuccessfully sought re-election for the parliamentary constituency of Dungarvan in 1868.
  26. ^ He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Londonderry City in 1872.
  27. ^ He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Carrickfergus in 1874.
  28. ^ He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Mallow in 1883.
  29. ^ He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of North Londonderry in 1885.
  30. ^ He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of West Derbyshire in 1892.

References edit

  • Haydn's Book of Dignities (for pre-1691 names and dates)
  1. ^ McCullagh, David (2010). The Reluctant Taoiseach: A Biography of John A Costello. Dublin: Gill & MacMillan. p. 48. Until 1929 the Attorney General had no full-time civil servants to assist him in giving legal advice, although there were a number of parliamentary draughtsmen.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Casey, James (1996). The Irish Law Officers. Round Hall, Sweet and Maxwell. p. 7.
  3. ^ a b c d Hart, A.R. The History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland. Four Courts Press, 2000. pp. 15, 20, 21.
  4. ^ Patent Roll 4 Edward II
  5. ^ a b Ball 1926a, page 220.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Smyth Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland Henry Butterworth London 1839
  7. ^ a b Close Roll 5 Henry VI
  8. ^ Close Roll 2 Richard II
  9. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509
  10. ^ a b Delaney, V. T. H. (1960). Christopher Palles. Dublin: Allen Figgis and Co. p. 60.
  11. ^ The National Archives Officers in Ireland anno primo R. Edward III, with their yearly fees
  12. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 3 - 17 April 1342
  13. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 1 - 12 February 1359
  14. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 21 October 1383
  15. ^ Close Roll 8 Richard II
  16. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 40 - 28 July 1385 - Patent Roll 9 Richard II
  17. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 77 - 15 January 1382
  18. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 31 - 16 January 1400 (approximate date)
  19. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 15 - 16 February 1400
  20. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 123 - 20 January 1404
  21. ^ Patent Roll 8 Henry IV
  22. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 140 - 20 August 1412
  23. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 23 - 4 October 1413
  24. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 17 November 1426
  25. ^ Ball 1926a, page 179.
  26. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 47 - 10 October 1450
  27. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 22 May 1471
  28. ^ Ball 1926a, page 183.
  29. ^ Ball 1926a, page 185.
  30. ^ Ball 1926a, page 187.
  31. ^ Ball 1926a, page 110.
  32. ^ Ball 1926a, page 190.
  33. ^ A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509, published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 3 - 25 October 1499
  34. ^ Entry 4 - 4 November 1499
  35. ^ a b Ball 1926a, page 188.
  36. ^ Calendar of the patent and close rolls of Chancery in Ireland, page xxxviii
  37. ^ page 2
  38. ^ Ball 1926a, page 193.
  39. ^ Letters Patent - 25 - 19 August, 24 and 25 Henry VIII
  40. ^ Fiant - 44 - 12 August 1535
  41. ^ Patent - 44 - no date in 1534-6
  42. ^ Fiant - 22 - 17 January 1554
  43. ^ Patent - 52 - 17 January 1554
  44. ^ Fiant - 41 - 16 April 1554
  45. ^ Patent - 53 - 16 April 1554
  46. ^ Patent - 28 - 15 June 1556 (2 & 3 Philip & Mary) - Membrane 7
  47. ^ Fiant - 233 - 1558 - no date
  48. ^ Patent - page 373 - Art. 70 - no date in 1557/8 (4 & 5 Philip & Mary)- Membrane 9
  49. ^ Fiant - 35 - 26 January 1559
  50. ^ Patent - 169 - Membrane 15
  51. ^ Patent - 178 - 3 September 1559 - John Barnewall
  52. ^ Fiant - 946 - 8 November 1566
  53. ^ Fiant - 1551 - 4 June 1570
  54. ^ Fiant - 1552 - 4 June 1570
  55. ^ Fiant - 2551 - 21 February 1574
  56. ^ Fiant - 2552 - 21 February 1574
  57. ^ - Letter of Appointment - 13 September, 20 Elizabeth (1578)
  58. ^ Bedfordshire Library Website, Local Biographies - Thomas Snagge, retrieved 4 May 2023
  59. ^ "Snagge, Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25971. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  60. ^ Fiant - 3662 - 9 September 1580
  61. ^ Fiant - 4010 - 28 August 1582
  62. ^ - Fiant - 4211 - 20 September 1583
  63. ^ Fiant - 4458 - 22 June 1584
  64. ^ Dictionary of Irish Biography
  65. ^ Dictionary of Irish Biography
  66. ^ Ball 1926b, page 195.
  67. ^ Dictionary of Irish Biography
  68. ^ Dictionary of Irish Biography, citing History of Parliament
  69. ^ Aspinall 1968, page 100, section 2748.
  70. ^ Aspinall 1968, page 100, section 2746, note 2.
  71. ^ William Courthope, ed. (1838). Debrett's complete peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (22nd ed.). p. 652. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  72. ^ a b "Plunket, William Conyngham, first Baron Plunket". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22415. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  73. ^ Sheil 1855, page 47.
  74. ^ Sheil 1855, page 59.
  75. ^ cited in Webb, Alfred (1878). A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H Gill & Son. p. 466.
  76. ^ Ball 1926b, page 347.
  77. ^ Cook & Keith 1975, p. 4.
  78. ^ Ball 1926b, page 274.
  79. ^ Ball 1926b, page 354.
  80. ^ Smith, G. B.; Hogan, Daire. "Blackburne, Francis (1782?–1867)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2514. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  81. ^ Ball 1926b, page 356.
  82. ^ The transition from the Tory Party to the Conservative Party is considered to have occurred with the Tamworth Manifesto in December 1834
  83. ^ "Brewster, Abraham". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3370. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  84. ^ "Atkinson, John, Baron Atkinson". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30495. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  85. ^ Butler, David; Butler, Gareth (1994). British Political Facts, 1900–1994. Macmillan. p. 9. ISBN 0-333-52617-1.

Sources edit

Further reading edit

External links edit