Richard Power (Monaghan politician) facts for kids
Richard Power (born around 1732–1794) was an important Irish politician, a barrister (a type of lawyer), and a judge in the late 1700s. He was a member of the Irish House of Commons (like a parliament) from 1767 to 1772. After that, he became a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland), which was a high court. He also held another important job as the Accountant-General for the Court of Chancery (Ireland). This role meant he managed money for the court. Towards the end of his life, he faced serious accusations about how he handled these funds, which led to the end of his career in 1794.
Early Life and Legal Work
Richard Power was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, around 1733. He was one of three sons of John Power and Elizabeth Congreve. His mother's family had connections to important figures, including an army officer and politician named Oliver Jones.
Power was known as a very good and careful judge. One of the most famous trials he oversaw was in 1786. It involved a wealthy landowner named George Robert FitzGerald. FitzGerald and his lawyer, Timothy Brecknock, were accused of a serious crime against another lawyer. FitzGerald was found guilty. During this trial, Judge Power had some disagreements with the lawyer for the other side, John Fitzgibbon. This created a lasting rivalry between the two men.
End of a Career
Richard Power's very successful career came to a difficult end in 1794. This was due to problems with his role as Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery. He had been given this job in 1763 and kept it even after he became a judge. In this position, he was personally in charge of all the money that was held by the Court of Chancery for ongoing legal cases.
A long legal case had finished, involving the money of a wealthy widow named Anna Eliza Brydges, Duchess of Chandos. She was unable to manage her own affairs and was under the court's protection. The person who won the case asked for the money owed to them, plus the interest (extra money earned on the main amount). The amount was about £3000, which was a lot of money back then.
Power refused to pay the interest. He said the winner was only allowed to have the main amount, and that he, as the Accountant-General, could keep the interest. The person who won the case then complained to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare. This was the same John Fitzgibbon whom Power had argued with during the FitzGerald trial years earlier.
The Lord Chancellor took the matter very seriously. He ordered Power to appear before him to explain his actions. Power strongly objected to this order. He felt it was wrong for another judge, especially one who had been a lawyer for a shorter time than Power had been a judge, to question him in such a way. However, the Lord Chancellor was firm and gave Power only five days to appear. Soon, rumors started that Power had gained a lot of his own wealth by keeping interest from other court funds in a similar way. This situation led to the end of his public career.
Sources
- The Annual Register for the Year 1794
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926
- Baratariana- a select collection of fugitive political pieces, published during the administration of Lord Townshend in Ireland 3rd Edition Dublin 1797
- Geoghegan, Patrick M. "Power, Richard" Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography
