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Tag Archives: F. Elrington Ball


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Death of Charles Kendal Bushe, Lawyer & Judge

Charles Kendal Bushe, Irish lawyer and judge, dies in County Dublin on July 10, 1843. Known as “silver-tongued Bushe” because of his eloquence, he is Solicitor-General for Ireland from 1805 to 1822 and Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench for Ireland from 1822 to 1841.

Bushe is born at Kilmurry House, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, the only son of the Reverend Thomas Bushe, rector of Mitchelstown, and his wife Katherine Doyle, daughter of Charles Doyle of Bramblestown, near Gowran. Kilmurry House had been built by the Bushe family in the 1690s. His father is forced to sell it to pay his debts, but he is able to repurchase it in 1814. He goes to the celebrated Quaker academy, Shackleton’s School in Ballitore, County Kildare, then graduates from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where his eloquence makes him a star of the College Historical Society. He is called to the Bar in 1790.

Bushe is a member of the Irish Parliament for Callan from 1796 to 1799, and for Donegal Borough from 1799 to 1800. He is Escheator of Leinster in 1799. By this time the office is a sinecure. He is vehemently opposed to the Acts of Union 1800, referring emotionally to Britain’s subjection of Ireland as “six hundred years of uniform oppression and injustice,” a phrase which quickly became a proverb. Although he refuses an offer of a place on the Bench as a bribe for supporting the Union, cynics note that his staunch opposition to the Union does not prevent him accepting high office under the British Crown afterwards. He is appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1805 and holds the office for 17 years until in 1822 he is appointed Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench for Ireland, although only after William Saurin, the equally long-serving Attorney-General, refuses the position. He retire in 1841.

As an advocate “silver-tongued Bushe” is legendary for his eloquence, and as a politician, he is admired by his English contemporaries like Sir Robert Peel and Lord Brougham. As a judge, according to F. Elrington Ball, he does not live up to expectations, although, if not an outstanding judge, he is an impressive and dignified one. As a statesman he is often accused of double-dealing: having opposed the Acts of Union, he has few scruples about accepting office under the new regime; and while himself supporting Catholic Emancipation, he prosecutes members of the Catholic Association for sedition, merely for advocating the same cause.

In Dublin, Bushe is a member of Daly’s Club.

Bushe dies in County Dublin on July 10, 1843, and is buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium in Harold’s Cross, County Dublin.


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Death of William Rokeby, Statesman, Cleric & Archbishop of Dublin

William Rokeby, a leading statesman and cleric in early sixteenth-century Ireland, dies at Kirk Sandall, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, on November 29, 1521. He holds the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He is commemorated in the Rokeby Chapels in two Yorkshire churches, St. Oswald’s Church, Kirk Sandall, and Halifax Minster.

Rokeby is born at Kirk Sandall, eldest of the five sons of John Rokeby (died 1506). His younger brother, Sir Richard Rokeby (died 1523), is Comptroller of the Household to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and later Treasurer of Ireland. He retains a deep affection for Kirk Sandall and returns there to die. He goes to school at Rotherham, studies at the University of Oxford and becomes a fellow of King’s Hall, later Trinity College, Cambridge. He becomes vicar of his home parish in 1487 and is transferred to Halifax, another town for which he has a deep attachment, in about 1499. In 1507 he is made Bishop of Meath.

On the death of Walter Fitzsimon in 1511, Rokeby becomes Archbishop of Dublin. It has been suggested that his elevation is due at least in part to his English birth, as the Crown is anxious to place Englishmen high up in the Irish hierarchy. No doubt his brother’s close connection to Wolsey also plays a part. He is Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1512 to 1513 and from 1516 to 1522.

Writer Roderick J. O’Flanagan believes that Rokeby is a good and diligent Lord Chancellor, although he does not leave behind many written judgments. He is clearly a trusted servant of the Crown; in particular, Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Deputy, Surrey, with the approval of Henry VIII, choose Rokeby in 1520 as mediator in the feud between Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond, and Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, which has become exceptionally bitter.

As Archbishop Rokeby makes a reputation as a peacemaker, settling a long and bitter dispute between the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. He gives permission to Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, for the original foundation of Maynooth College, which is suppressed in 1535. He is frequently at the English Court, so often indeed that he is accused of neglecting his official duties back in Ireland. He participates in the christening of the future Queen Mary I in 1516 and the ceremony by which Wolsey receives his cardinal’s hat.

As Archbishop of Dublin, Rokeby is best remembered for the Synod of 1518. The Synod prohibits the use of any tin chalice at Mass, and the disposal of Church property by laymen; and attempts to regulate the procedure for dealing with intestate estates, the payment of tithes and burial fees and the rules for admission to the clergy. Rather comically, he strictly forbids clergymen to play football.

Rokeby is appointed Archdeacon of Surrey on March 27, 1519. By 1521 his health is failing, and he retires to Kirk Sandall, where he dies on November 29. In his will he leaves £200 to rebuild St. Mary’s Church, Beverley, whose tower had collapsed the previous year.

Rokeby makes elaborate provisions in his will for the disposal of his remains. In accordance with his wishes, his body is buried in St. Oswald’s Church, Kirk Sandall, but his heart and bowels are buried in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Halifax (now known as Halifax Minster). Mortuary chapels are erected at both spots, which still exist today.

O’Flanagan praises Rokeby as a good man, a good bishop and, so far as we can tell from the scanty records, a good judge. Irish author F. Elrington Ball, while acknowledging his good qualities, suggests that he was a failure as Irish Lord Chancellor, due partly to his frequent absences in England.

(Pictured: Halifax Minster, where Rokeby’s heart is buried)


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Birth of John Gore, 1st Baron Annaly

John Gore, 1st Baron Annaly, Irish politician and peer, is born on March 2, 1718.

Gore is the second son of George Gore, judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland), who in turn is the son of Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet. His mother is Bridget Sankey, younger daughter of John Sankey. His mother brings his father a fortune and the manor of Tenelick in County Longford, which comes to John on the death of his brother Arthur in 1758.

Gore is called to the Bar by King’s Inns and works as barrister-at-law. He is Counsel to the Commissioners of Revenue and also a King’s Counsel from 1749. From 1747 and 1760, he sits as Member of Parliament (MP) for Jamestown. Subsequently, he sits for Longford County in the Irish House of Commons until 1765.

In 1760 Gore is appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, a post he holds until 1764, when he becomes Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench for Ireland. In the same year he is sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland. On January 17, 1766, he is elevated to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Annaly, of Tenelick in the County of Longford. In the following year he is elected Speaker of the Irish House of Lords.

Gore is a popular, witty and unassuming man, and a keen sportsman. In politics he is considered a strong reactionary, arguing that the Crown has the right to keep Parliament sitting indefinitely, and he is opposed to any extension of the powers of the Irish Parliament. In his later years he is inclined to denounce the Irish people as “idle and licentious.” Irish author and legal historian F. Elrington Ball notes however that Henry Grattan likes and admires Gore despite their strongly opposed political views. His judicial qualities are viciously attacked in an anonymous satire: “Without judgement, a judge makes justice unjust.” Ball on the other hand argues that his judgements and speeches in the House of Commons show that he does not lack ability.

In 1747, Gore marries Frances Wingfield, second daughter of Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt of the third creation. Their marriage is childless. He dies on April 3, 1784 at St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin and is buried in the family vault in the church of Taghshinny in County Longford. With his death the barony becomes extinct, but is revived for his brother Henry, first and last Baron Annaly of the second creation. Lady Annaly dies in 1794 and is buried at St. Marylebone Parish Church, London.