Chief Justice of Munster facts for kids
The Chief Justice of Munster was a very important judge in the province of Munster, a region in Ireland. This judge helped the Lord President of Munster with legal issues. Even though they were called "Chief Justice," the Lord President actually had the main power to hear and decide all kinds of complaints and legal cases in Munster. The Lord President could also hold special court sessions to deal with serious crimes.
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What the Chief Justice of Munster Did
The Lord President of Munster often asked the Chief Justice and another judge, called the Second Justice, to handle many legal cases. These judges were part of the Lord President's council and traveled with him when he held court sessions in different towns. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I ordered that both judges should always be with the Lord President, unless he gave them special permission to be away.
In the early years, the court didn't have one fixed place. It could meet wherever the President thought it was needed. Traveling around Munster could be dangerous because of many local problems. For example, in 1579, there was a serious disturbance during court sessions in Tralee, where some court officials were killed.
During a big political crisis in 1601–1602 (around the time of the Battle of Kinsale), the Lord President's court temporarily took on the powers of the main courts of law. In 1620, Luke Gernon, who was the Second Justice, wrote that "when the President goes out, he is joined by soldiers. When he rides, he has a group of horsemen, and when he walks, he has a group of foot soldiers with pikes and muskets". This shows how important and protected the court was.
The President's court had wide powers, which sometimes led to disagreements with older courts, like the Court of Chancery (Ireland). In 1622, the Court of Munster and a similar court in Connacht were told not to get involved in cases that clearly belonged to other courts.
By 1620, the court had a permanent home in Limerick. It held its sessions in King John's Castle. Luke Gernon wrote that the court was set up like the Council of Wales, with "a President, two justices and a council. We sit in council at a table".
Being the Chief Justice of Munster was a demanding job. It was usually thought best not to hold this job at the same time as another senior judge position. For example, William Saxey caused a lot of anger in 1599 when he refused to quit as Chief Justice after being appointed a judge in the Court of King's Bench (Ireland). This was seen as wrong because he never even worked in the King's Bench court and also started to neglect his duties in Munster.
However, it was understood that a Chief Justice of Munster could expect to be promoted later to one of the main courts, or even become a chief justice there. People like James Dowdall, Sir Nicholas Walsh, and Lord Sarsfield all achieved this.
An exception was made for Gerald Comerford, who was appointed both Chief Justice of Munster and a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) just before he died in 1604. This was probably because he had served the Crown loyally for 20 years. He had often complained about not getting enough reward for his long service. He was also the Attorney General for Connacht for life.
It was generally fine for the Chief Justice to hold a local legal job or be a member of Parliament at the same time. Henry Gosnold, for much of his career, was also the admiralty judge for Munster. This was the only local part of the Irish Admiralty Court at the time. Sir Richard Aylward was a Member of Parliament in 1585–86 while also being the Second Justice of Munster. John Meade, who was a Member of Parliament twice, had also been the Second Justice and Recorder of Cork.
Attorney General for Munster
The court also had its own attorney general, who was a legal officer. The last known attorney was Henry Bathurst (who died in 1676), who later became the Recorder of Cork. Some important people who held this job were:
- Henry Gosnold
- Dominick, Viscount Sarsfield
- Richard Becon, who was important in the Plantation of Munster (when English settlers moved to Ireland). He also wrote a famous book called Solon his follie in 1594, which was about how Ireland was poorly governed.
- Sir Lawrence Parsons, who had a varied career. He was a Member of Parliament for Tallow, the Recorder of Youghal, a Judge of the Irish Court of Admiralty, and a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He was an ancestor of the Earl of Rosse.
- Sir Gerard Lowther, who was Parsons's son-in-law and also became a Baron of the Exchequer.
- Henry Bathurst, who came from a well-known English Royalist family.
Civil War and Restoration
During the troubles of the English Civil War, the job of Chief Justice stopped for a while. Henry Gosnold, who had been appointed in 1624, lived to be very old and might have still been alive in 1658.
The job was briefly brought back for John Cook in 1655. He changed the provincial court and replaced it with several county courts. William Halsey worked for the Cromwellian government in different roles, including Mayor of Waterford and Second Justice of Munster. In the 1650s, the court seemed to be based in Mallow. Henry Bathurst was Attorney-General from about 1653 to 1655.
The job was brought back when King Charles II returned to the throne (the Restoration). Surprisingly, the new Chief Justice was William Halsey, even though he had served Oliver Cromwell. People said this was because he was highly respected, though his enemies quickly accused him of not being loyal to the King. He was the last person to hold the job, which was officially ended in 1672.
List of Chief Justices of Munster (1569–1672)
- George Walshe 1569
- James Dowdall 1570
- Sir Nicholas Walsh 1576
- Jesse Smythes 1584
- William Saxey 1594
- Gerald Comerford c.1603
- Dominick Sarsfield, 1st Viscount Sarsfield 1604 or 1605
- Edward Harris 1608
- Henry Gosnold, or Gosnell 1624
Interregnum (a period when there was no king)
- John Cook 1650
- William Halsey 1660.
Office ended in 1672
List of Second Justices of Munster
This is not a complete list
- Nicholas Walsh: He became the Second Justice of Munster when the Presidency was set up in 1569. He was promoted to Chief Justice of Munster in 1576.
- John Meagh, Meade or Myarh: He was the first known Recorder of Cork, appointed between 1570 and 1574. Later, he became the Second Justice of Munster. He was a lawyer from Lincoln's Inn in London. He was a Member of Parliament for Cork City in 1559 and 1585. He was an ancestor of the Meade Baronets and the Earl of Clanwilliam.
- Sir Richard Aylward, who took over from Walsh as Second Justice in 1576. He came from the important Aylward family of Faithlegg, County Waterford. Like his father, he was a Member of Parliament, representing County Waterford in 1585-86. He became a member of the Council of the King's Inns around 1607. He died after 1610.
- James Gould or Goold: He was the Second Justice of Munster when William Saxey was Chief Justice. There were some concerns about his qualifications because he was born in Ireland. He probably belonged to a well-known Limerick family. During the Nine Years War (1593-1603), he wrote sad letters to the English Government about the state of English rule in Ireland. In 1598, during serious problems in Munster, he was described as being "utterly forsaken" (left alone). In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I ordered that Gould and Saxey must always stay with the Lord President of Munster because they were "of special trust appointed to his Council".
- James Osborne (early 1600s?): Not much is known about him, except that he had a daughter, Katherine (who died in 1615). She was the first wife of Sir George Sexton of Limerick (who died in 1631), who was the Secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland.
- Luke Gernon: He was born in England and became the Second Justice of Munster in 1619. He is mainly remembered for his manuscript (likely a private letter) called Discourse of Ireland (1620). This writing gives useful details about the President's court and a clear picture of Limerick city. He was still alive during the Restoration and received a pension. He died at a very old age around 1672.
- William Halsey: He served as Second Justice during the Cromwellian government and became the last Chief Justice of Munster in 1660.
- John Nayler of Gray's Inn: He was the Second Justice of Munster from 1660 to 1666.
- Sir Standish Hartstonge, 1st Baronet: He was the last Second Justice of Munster. Later, he served two terms as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland).
Office ended in 1672
List of Attorneys General for Munster
This is not a complete list
- Richard Becon, 1586-1591
- Henry Gosnold 1596-1600
- Dominic Sarsfield, 1st Viscount Sarsfield 1600-1604/5
- Sir Lawrence Parsons 1612-1621
- Sir Gerard Lowther 1621-1623
- Henry Bathurst c. 1653-55, later Recorder of Cork and Kinsale
Office ended in 1672
