Sir Henry Lynch, 3rd Baronet facts for kids
Sir Henry Lynch, 3rd Baronet (died 1691) was an important Irish landowner, lawyer, and judge. He was one of the Roman Catholic judges chosen by King James II to change how the government in Ireland worked. Some people at the time, and later historians, didn't think highly of him as a judge. Unlike some other judges, he was accused of being very unfair to Protestants. This might be why he was one of the few Irish judges who left the country after King James II lost power following the Battle of the Boyne. He died in France while living away from home.
Who Was Sir Henry Lynch?
Sir Henry Lynch came from a very old and respected family in Galway, a city in Ireland. His father was Sir Robuck Lynch, who was the 2nd Baronet and served as the Mayor of Galway in 1638-1639. His mother was Ellen, the daughter of Sir Peter French.
Sir Henry became the 3rd Baronet in 1667 after his father passed away. He studied law at the Middle Temple in London starting in 1664, and later at the King's Inn in Ireland in 1674.
Becoming a Judge
Starting in 1687, the English King tried to replace Protestant judges in Ireland with Catholic ones. Sir Henry Lynch, who was already a judge called the Recorder of Galway, was chosen to be a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). This was a high court.
Many people criticized King James II's new Catholic judges. They said the judges weren't honest or smart enough, and that they only did what the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, told them to do. People also claimed they were very poor, but this wasn't true for Sir Henry Lynch. Even so, when he became a high court judge, he had only been a lawyer for twelve years. However, being a Recorder in Ireland was a full-time job, so he had good experience.
King James II's new judges had barely started their jobs when King James was defeated by William III. During the confusing years from 1688 to 1690, it wasn't clear what would happen to the Irish High Court judges. Most of them, including Sir Henry Lynch, kept working. He even traveled around Leinster to hear cases. It seemed he was working with King William III, who was too busy with other things to focus much on changing the judges right away.
Life in Exile
Eventually, King William III did remove King James II's judges from their positions. However, it was generally understood that no harm would come to them. Even though there was a lot of negative talk about them, most of these judges hadn't done anything seriously wrong. Some were even well-respected people.
Because of this, it's a bit of a mystery why Sir Henry Lynch left Ireland. He died in Brest, France, in 1691. One idea is that a letter was found where Sir Henry Lynch supposedly admitted that in trials where he could decide if someone should be executed, he would always try to have a Protestant person executed, whether they were innocent or guilty. This accusation of extreme unfairness might explain why he felt he had to leave the country.
His Family
After Sir Henry Lynch died, his family was not punished. His oldest son, Robert, inherited his title and lands. Sir Henry Lynch's descendants, known as the Lynch-Blosse Baronets, still hold the baronetcy today.
Sir Henry Lynch was married twice. His first wife was Margaret Bourke, who was the daughter of Theobald Bourke, 3rd Viscount Mayo. His second wife was Mary, daughter of Nicholas Blake. With his first wife, he had three sons: Dominick, James, and Sir Robert Lynch, who became the 4th Baronet.
