Attorney-General for Ireland

{{Short description|Senior legal officer in Ireland prior to 1921}} {{About|the pre-independence office|the modern office|Attorney General of Ireland}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}} [[File:1stLordKillanin.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Michael Morris, later Lord Killanin, Attorney-General for Ireland from 1866 to 1867]] [[File:Angelika Kauffmann Portrait Philip Tisdall.jpg|thumb|200px| Philip Tisdall, Attorney-General for Ireland from 1760 to 1777, portrait by Angelica Kauffmann]]

The '''Attorney-General for Ireland''' was an Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCullagh |first=David |author-link=David McCullagh |title=The Reluctant Taoiseach: A Biography of John A Costello |publisher=Gill & MacMillan |location=Dublin |date=2010 |page=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.</ref>

==History of the office == 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),<ref name=Casey>{{cite book|last=Casey |first=James |title=The Irish Law Officers |publisher=Round Hall, Sweet and Maxwell |date=1996 |page=7}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Casey/> 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.<ref name=Hart/> Early holders of the office, including Manning, were permitted to take private clients.<ref name=Casey/> Manning is on record as acting as attorney for Meiler Kendal in 1310, prior to his appointment as Attorney-General.<ref>''Patent Roll 4 Edward II''</ref> 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.<ref name=Casey/>

There are at least two references to a Deputy Attorney-General.{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/220/mode/2up?view=theater page 220]}} The first was in 1385, when Robert Hemynborough, or de Hemynborgh, was appointed Attorney-General "with power to appoint a Deputy".<ref name=Smyth>Smyth ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' Henry Butterworth London 1839</ref> Two centuries later, Edward Butler, who became Attorney-General in 1582, had acted as deputy from 1578 to 1580.{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/220/mode/2up?view=theater page 220]}} 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.<ref name=Smyth/> John White was described in 1426 as "King's Attorney in the King's Bench and the Exchequer".<ref name="Close Roll 5 Henry VI">''Close Roll 5 Henry VI''</ref> 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".<ref>''Close Roll 2 Richard II''</ref> In 1499 Clement Fitzleones, less typically, was appointed "King's Attorney in all Courts".<ref>''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509''</ref> 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".<ref name=Hart/>

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 == 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.<ref name=Casey/> 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",<ref name=Smyth/> 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.<ref name=Smyth/>

==Attorney-General in politics == The Attorney-General, in later centuries at least,<ref name=Casey/> 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).<ref name=Casey/>

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.<ref name=Casey/> 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 {{em|tolerate}} a refusal to ratify the appointment".<ref name=Delaney>{{cite book|last=Delaney |first=V. T. H. |title=Christopher Palles |publisher=Allen Figgis and Co. |location=Dublin|date=1960 |page=60}}</ref>

The office of Attorney General was described as being "a great mixture of law and general political reasoning".<ref name=Delaney/>

==Attorneys-General for Ireland, 1313–1922==

===14th century=== * Richard Manning: appears as a barrister in private practice in 1310; appointed "King's Attorney" or King's Serjeant for Ireland 1313.<ref name=Hart>Hart, A.R. ''The History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland''. Four Courts Press, 2000. pp. 15, 20, 21.</ref> Still in office in 1327.<ref>The National Archives ''Officers in Ireland anno primo R. Edward III, with their yearly fees''</ref> * William de Woodworth: c. 1327<ref name=Hart/> * Thomas of Westham: 1334<ref name=Casey/> * William Rouse: 17 April 1342<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/16-edward-iii/3?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 3 - 17 April 1342]</ref> * 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<ref name =Smyth/> * William Lynnoor: 12 February 1359<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/33-edward-iii/1?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 1 - 12 February 1359]</ref> * Henry Mitchell: 1372;<ref name=Smyth /> promoted to Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer 1376 * Robert Hore, or le Hore: 1379,{{efn|name=Note23}} superseded 1381. He appears to have served a second term in 1383–84, as he was re-appointed on 21 October 1383<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/7-richard-ii/6?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 21 October 1383]</ref> and the Close Rolls have an order to pay his arrears of salary for those two years.<ref>''Close Roll 8 Richard II''</ref> On 28 July 1385 he was ordered not to "interefere" with the Office of Attorney-General any further.<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/9-richard-ii/40?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 40 - 28 July 1385 - ''Patent Roll 9 Richard II '']</ref> * Thomas Malalo: 15 January 1381{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/5-richard-ii/77?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 77 - 15 January 1382]</ref> * Robert Hemynborgh or de Hemynborough: 18 July 1385{{efn|name=Note23}} (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=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name ! colspan=2 | Term of office ! Reason for leaving office |- |William Tynbegh |20 January 1400, having stepped down as a judge{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/1-henry-iv/31?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=search_persons_or_page&path=search-persons-text&surnametext=Tynbegh&surname=Tynbegh&forename=Tynbegh&titlestatus=Tynbegh&office=Tynbegh&order=field_regnal_year&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 31 - 16 January 1400 (approximate date)]</ref> | | |- |John Barry |appointed 16 February 1401;{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/2-henry-iv/15?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 15 - 16 February 1400]</ref> |still in office in 1404 <ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/5-henry-iv/123?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 123 - 20 January 1404]</ref> | |- |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.<ref>''Patent Roll 8 Henry IV''</ref> | | |- |John Whyte or White |appointed 20 August 1412<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/13-henry-iv/140?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 140 - 20 August 1412]</ref> re-appointed 4 October 1413<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/1-henry-v/23?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 23 - 4 October 1413]</ref> re-appointed 19 October 1422;{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/close/5-henry-vi/6?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_chancery_date&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 17 November 1426]</ref> |still in office 1426, when he was described as "the King's Attorney in the Exchequer"<ref name="Close Roll 5 Henry VI"/> | |- |Stephen Roche |1441 | | |- |William Sutton |1444{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/178/mode/2up?view=theater page 179]}} | | |- |Robert FitzRery |1450<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/29-henry-vi/47?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_regnal_year&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 47 - 10 October 1450]</ref> | | |- |Thomas Dowdall |1463{{efn|name=Note30}} | | |- |Nicholas Sutton |1471 or 1472<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/11-edward-iv/6?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_regnal_year&sort=asc ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 6 - 22 May 1471]</ref>{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/182/mode/2up?view=theater page 183]}} | | |- |Thomas Archbold |1478 {{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/184/mode/2up?view=theater page 185]}} | | |- |Thomas Cusacke |1480{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/186/mode/2up?view=theater page 187]}} | | |- |Walter St. Lawrence |1491{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/110/mode/2up?view=theater page 110]}}{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/190/mode/2up?view=theater page 190]}} | | |- |Clement Fitzleones |1499<ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/15-henry-vii/3?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=search_persons_or_page&path=search-persons-text&surnametext=lEONES&surname=lEONES&forename=lEONES&titlestatus=lEONES&office=lEONES ''A Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters c.1244-1509'', published by Trinity College Dublin Entry 3 - 25 October 1499]</ref><ref>[https://chancery.tcd.ie/document/patent/15-henry-vii/4?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=%22K%27s%20Attorney%22&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_year_value2%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&order=field_regnal_year&sort=asc Entry 4 - 4 November 1499]</ref>{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/188/mode/2up?view=theater page 188]}} |By 1505 |Appointed as King's Serjeant{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/188/mode/2up?view=theater page 188]}} |}

===16th century=== '''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.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/n41/mode/2up?view=theater Calendar of the patent and close rolls of Chancery in Ireland, page xxxviii]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater page 2]</ref>

{| class="wikitable" ! Name ! Portrait ! colspan=2 | 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{{sfn|Ball|1926a|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/192/mode/2up?view=theater page 193]}} |1514 |Appointed third Baron of the Exchequer |- |Unknown |- |'''Thomas St. Lawrence''' | |18 August 1532{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/4/mode/2up?view=theater Letters Patent - 25 - 19 August, 24 and 25 Henry VIII]</ref> |12 August 1535<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250240-1001/page/n35/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 44 - 12 August 1535]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/16/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 44 - no date in 1534-6]</ref> |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Robert Dillon''' | |August 1535{{efn|name=Note23}} |17 January 1554<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250521-1001/page/n59/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 22 - 17 January 1554]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/312/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 52 - 17 January 1554]</ref> also <ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250521-1001/page/n61/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 41 - 16 April 1554]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/312/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 53 - 16 April 1554]</ref> |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Barnaby Skurloke or Skurlog''' | |1554{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/342/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 28 - 15 June 1556 (2 & 3 Philip & Mary) - Membrane 7]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250521-1001/page/n83/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 233 - 1558 - no date]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/372/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - page 373 - Art. 70 - no date in 1557/8 (4 & 5 Philip & Mary)- Membrane 9]</ref><br>re-appointed 26 January 1559<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250640-1001/page/n33/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 35 - 26 January 1559]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/412/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 169 - Membrane 15]</ref> |1559 |Dismissed |- |'''James Barnewall''' | |3 September 1559{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent01irel/page/412/mode/2up?view=theater Patent - 178 - 3 September 1559 - John Barnewall]</ref> | | |- |'''Lucas Dillon''' | |8 November 1566{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250640-1001/page/n141/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 946 - 8 November 1566]</ref> |17 May 1570<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250640-1001/page/n231/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 1551 - 4 June 1570]</ref> |Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |'''Edward Fitz-Symon''' | |4 June 1570{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250640-1001/page/n233/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 1552 - 4 June 1570]</ref> |21 February 1574<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250902-1001/page/n141/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 2551 - 21 February 1574]</ref> |Appointed as King's Serjeant |- |'''John Bathe''' | |21 February 1574{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1250902-1001/page/n141/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 2552 - 21 February 1574]</ref> |1577 |Removed from office |- |'''Thomas Snagge''' | |13 September 1577{{efn|name=Note24}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/calendarofpatent2157dubl/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater - Letter of Appointment - 13 September, 20 Elizabeth (1578)]</ref> |1580<ref name="Web1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120212215340/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/thomas_snagge_article.htm Bedfordshire Library Website, Local Biographies - Thomas Snagge], retrieved 4 May 2023</ref> |"returned to England in 1580, when he was appointed serjeant-at-law"<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/25971|title=Snagge, Thomas}}</ref> |- |'''Christopher Flemyng''', or Fleming | |9 September 1580{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951p00685041m&view=1up&seq=141 Fiant - 3662 - 9 September 1580]</ref> | |Death |- |'''Edmund or Edward Butler''' | |8 August 1582{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951p00685041m&view=1up&seq=190 Fiant - 4010 - 28 August 1582]</ref> |20 September 1583<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951p00685041m&view=1up&seq=224 - Fiant - 4211 - 20 September 1583]</ref> |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Charles Calthorpe''', afterwards Sir Charles | |22 June 1584{{efn|name=Note23}}<ref>[https://archive.org/details/op1251438-1001/page/n51/mode/2up?view=theater Fiant - 4458 - 22 June 1584]</ref> |19 April 1606<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |}

===17th century=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name ! Portrait ! colspan=2 | Term of office ! Reason for leaving office |- |'''Sir John Davys <br>or Davies'''<br>{{small|MP for County Fermanagh (1613)}} |75px |19 April 1606{{efn|name=Note24}} |1619 |Resigned |- |'''Sir William Ryves''' | |30 October 1619{{efn|name=Note23}} |7 August 1636<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Richard Osbaldeston''' <br>of Gray's Inn | |7 August 1636{{efn|name=Note24}} |June 1640 |Death |- |'''Sir Thomas Tempest''' | |20 July 1640{{efn|name=Note24}} | | |- |'''William Basil''' | |18 July 1649{{efn|name=Note23}} |24 January 1659{{efn|name=Note25}} |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{{efn|name=Note29}} |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'''<br>{{small|MP for County Dublin (1661-66)}} | |23 June 1660{{efn|name=Note23}} | |Retired |- |'''Sir Richard Nagle'''<br>{{small|MP for County Cork (1689)}} | |31 December 1686{{efn|name=Note24}} |3 October 1691{{efn|name=Note27}}{{efn|name=Note28}} |Jacobite Ireland ceased to exist due to the Treaty of Limerick |- |'''Sir John Temple''' | |30 October 1690{{efn|name=Note24}}{{efn|name=Note26}} | |Retired |- |'''Robert Rochfort'''<br>{{small|MP for County Westmeath}} |75px |10 May 1695{{efn|name=Note24}} |12 June 1707<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |}

===18th century=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name ! Portrait ! colspan=2 | Term of office ! Reason for leaving office ! Subsequent peerage, if any |- |'''Alan Brodrick'''<br>{{small|MP for Cork City}} |75px |12 June 1707{{efn|name=Note24}} |24 December 1709<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} |Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland |Viscount Midleton |- |'''John Forster'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin City}} | |24 December 1709{{efn|name=Note24}} | |Dismissed{{efn|name=Note22}}<ref>[https://www.dib.ie/biography/forster-john-a3333 Dictionary of Irish Biography]</ref> - <br>Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland, 1714 |- |'''Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet'''<br>{{small|MP for Longford Borough (to 1713)<br>MP for Gowran (1713)<br>MP for Kilkenny City (from 1713)}} | |4 June 1711{{efn|name=Note24}} | |Dismissed{{efn|name=Note20}}<ref>[https://www.dib.ie/biography/levinge-sir-richard-a4818 Dictionary of Irish Biography]</ref>{{efn|name=Note21}}{{sfn|Ball|1926b|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/194/mode/2up?view=theater page 195]}} - <br>Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland, 1721 |- |'''George Gore'''<br>{{small|MP for Longford Borough}} | |3 Nov 1714 |13 May 1720<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |'''John Rogerson'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin City}} | |14 May 1720{{efn|name=Note24}} |3 April 1727<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland |- |'''Thomas Marlay'''<br>{{small|MP for Lanesborough}} | |5 May 1727{{efn|name=Note24}} |29 September 1730<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |'''Robert Jocelyn'''<br>{{small|MP for Newtownards}} |75px |29 September 1730{{efn|name=Note24}} |30 August 1739<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |Viscount Jocelyn |- |'''John Bowes'''<br>{{small|MP for Taghmon}} |75px |3 Sep 1739{{efn|name=Note24}} |21 December 1741<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |Baron Bowes |- |'''St George Caulfeild'''<br>{{small|MP for Tulsk}} | |23 Dec 1741 {{efn|name=Note24}} |27 August 1751<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland |- |'''Warden Flood'''<br>{{small|MP for Callan}} | |27 August 1751{{efn|name=Note24}} |31 July 1760<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland |- |'''Philip Tisdall'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University (to 1776)<br>MP for Armagh Borough (1768–69 and 1776–77)}} |75px |31 July 1760{{efn|name=Note24}} |11 September 1777 |Death |- |'''John Scott'''<br>{{small|MP for Mullingar}} |75px |17 Oct 1777{{efn|name=Note24}} | |Dismissed{{efn|name=Note19}}<ref>[https://www.dib.ie/biography/scott-john-a7949 Dictionary of Irish Biography]</ref> <br>Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland, 1784 |Earl of Clonmell |- |'''Barry Yelverton'''<br>{{small|MP for Carrickfergus}} | |2 July 1782{{efn|name=Note24}} |29 November 1783<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |Viscount Avonmore |- |'''John Fitzgibbon'''<br>{{small|MP for Kilmallock}} |75px |29 Nov 1783{{efn|name=Note24}} |13 June 1789<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |Earl of Clare |- |'''Arthur Wolfe'''<br>{{small|MP for Coleraine (to 1790)}}<br>{{small|MP for Jamestown (1790–1797)}}<br>{{small|MP for Dublin City (1797–1798)}} |75px |16 July 1789{{efn|name=Note24}} |13 June 1798<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland |Viscount Kilwarden |- |'''John Toler'''<br>{{small|MP for Gorey}} |75px |26 June 1798{{efn|name=Note24}} |22 October 1800<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} |Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland |Earl of Norbury |- |}

===19th century=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name ! Portrait ! colspan=2 | Term of office ! colspan=2|Political party ! Reason for leaving office |- |'''John Stewart'''<br>{{small|MP for Bangor (Parliament of Ireland) <br>(to 31 December 1800)}}<br>{{small|MP for Tyrone (UK Parliament) <br>(from 1 March 1802)}} | |9 December 1800<br>{{efn|name=Note24}} | | | |Retired/resigned{{efn|name=Note17}}<ref>[https://www.dib.ie/biography/stewart-sir-john-a8308 Dictionary of Irish Biography], citing [https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/stewart-john-i-1758-1825 History of Parliament]</ref> citing {{sfn|Aspinall|1968|loc=[https://archive.org/details/latercorresponde0004geor_a2a6/page/100/mode/2up?view=theater page 100, section 2748]}} |- |'''Standish O'Grady'''{{efn|name=Note18}}{{sfn|Aspinall|1968|loc=[https://archive.org/details/latercorresponde0004geor_a2a6/page/100/mode/2up?view=theater page 100, section 2746, note 2]}} | |28 May 1803<br>{{efn|name=Note24}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's complete peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|editor=William Courthope|editor-link=William Courthope (officer of arms)|year=1838|edition=22nd|page=652|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ru4UAAAAQAAJ|access-date=11 December 2009|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427154836/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ru4UAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> |5 October 1805<br>{{efn|name=Note25}}{{efn|name=Note24}} | | | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |rowspan=2|'''William Plunket'''<br>{{small|MP for Midhurst (1807)}} |rowspan=2|75px |rowspan=2|15 October 1805<br>{{efn|name=Note24}} |rowspan=2| |{{party name with colour|Independent politician}} |- |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}}{{efn|name=Note13}}<ref name = Plunket>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/22415|title=Plunket, William Conyngham, first Baron Plunket}}</ref> | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1822 - see below |- |'''William Saurin''' | |15 May 1807<br>{{efn|name=Note24}} | |{{party name with colour|Tory}}{{efn|name=Note15}}{{sfn|Sheil|1855|loc=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.514329/page/n59/mode/2up?view=theater page 47]}}{{efn|name=Note14}}{{sfn|Sheil|1855|loc=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.514329/page/n71/mode/2up?view=theater page 59]}}<ref>cited in {{cite book |last=Webb |first=Alfred |author-link=Alfred Webb |date=1878 |title=A Compendium of Irish Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/compendiumofiris00webb_0/page/466/mode/2up?view=theater |location=Dublin |publisher=M. H Gill & Son |page=466 }}</ref> |Dismissed |- |'''William Plunket'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |15 January 1822 |18 June 1827{{efn|name=Note23}} |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}}{{efn|name=Note12}}<ref name = Plunket/> |Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland |- |'''Henry Joy''' | |18 June 1827{{efn|name=Note23}} |6 January 1831<br>{{efn|name=Note23}} |{{party name with colour|Tory}}{{efn|name=Note11}}{{sfn|Ball|1926b|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/346/mode/2up?view=theater page 347]}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |''Edward Pennefather'' | |''23 December 1830<br>{{sfn|Cook|Keith|1975|p=4}}{{efn|name=Note08}}{{sfn|Ball|1926b||loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/274/mode/2up?view=theater page 274]}}'' | |{{party name with colour|Tory}}{{efn|name=Note10}}{{sfn|Ball|1926b|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/354/mode/2up?view=theater page 354]}} |''Declined to serve'' |- |rowspan=2 |'''Francis Blackburne''' |rowspan=2|75px |rowspan=2|11 January 1831<br>{{efn|name=Note23}}{{efn|name=Note07}} |rowspan=2| |{{party name with colour|Tory}}{{efn|name=Note16}}<ref>{{cite ODNB|first1=G. B.|last1= Smith|first2=Daire |last2=Hogan|id=2514 |title=Blackburne, Francis (1782?–1867)}}</ref>{{efn|name=Note09}}{{sfn|Ball|1926b|loc=[https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/356/mode/2up?view=theater page 356]}}<ref>{{Cite IrishBio|wstitle= Blackburne, Francis |last= Webb |first= Alfred|author-link= Alfred Webb|year=1878 |page= 23 |short=1}}</ref> |- |{{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}<ref>The transition from the Tory Party to the Conservative Party is considered to have occurred with the Tamworth Manifesto in December 1834</ref> | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1841 - see below |- |'''Louis Perrin'''<br>{{small|MP for Cashel}} | |29 April 1835{{efn|name=Note23}} |31 August 1835{{efn|name=Note23}} |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Michael O'Loghlen'''<br>{{small|MP for Dungarvan}} | |31 August 1835{{efn|name=Note23}} | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) |- |'''John Richards''' | |10 November 1836{{efn|name=Note23}} | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) |- |'''Stephen Woulfe'''<br>{{small|MP for Cashel}} | |3 February 1837{{efn|name=Note23}} | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |'''Nicholas Ball'''<br>{{small|MP for Clonmel}} | |11 July 1838{{efn|name=Note23}} | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |'''Maziere Brady''' | |23 February 1839{{efn|name=Note23}} | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |'''David Richard Pigot'''<br>{{small|MP for Clonmel}} | |11 August 1840 | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1846 |- |'''Francis Blackburne''' |75px |23 September 1841 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''Thomas Berry Cusack Smith'''<br>{{small|MP for Ripon, 1843-6}} | |1 November 1842 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''Richard Wilson Greene''' |75px |2 February 1846 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1852 |- |'''Richard Moore''' | |16 July 1846 | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''James Henry Monahan''' | |21 December 1847 | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Appointed as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland |- |'''John Hatchell'''<br>{{small|MP for Windsor}} | |23 September 1850 | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Ministry left office |- |'''Joseph Napier'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |February 1852 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1858 |- |'''Abraham Brewster''' |75px |10 January 1853<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/3370|title=Brewster, Abraham}}</ref> | |{{party name with colour|Peelite}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery in Ireland in 1866 |- |'''William Keogh'''<br>{{small|MP for Athlone}} |75px |March 1855 | |{{party name with colour|Peelite}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |'''John David Fitzgerald'''<br>{{small|MP for Ennis}} | |March 1856 | |{{party name with colour|Whig Party (UK)}} |Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1859 - see below |- |'''James Whiteside'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |February 1858 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench for Ireland in 1866 |- |'''John David Fitzgerald'''<br>{{small|MP for Ennis}} | |June 1859 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Rickard Deasy'''<br>{{small|MP for County Cork}} | |February 1860 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) |- |'''Thomas O'Hagan'''<br>{{small|MP for Tralee (1863-65)}} |75px |1861 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |'''James Anthony Lawson'''<br>{{small|MP for Portarlington}} | |1865 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) in December 1868 |- |'''John Edward Walsh'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |25 July 1866 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''Michael Morris'''<br>{{small|MP for Galway Borough}} |75px |1 November 1866 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) |- |'''Hedges Eyre Chatterton'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |1867 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |Appointed Vice-Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''Robert Warren'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |1867 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} |Appointed the Irish Probate Judge |- |'''John Thomas Ball'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |1868 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1874 - see below |- |'''Edward Sullivan'''<br>{{small|MP for Mallow}} | |12 December 1868 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''Charles Robert Barry'''{{efn|name=Note02}} |75px |26 January 1870 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) |- |'''Richard Dowse'''<br>{{small|MP for Londonderry City}} |75px |13 January 1872 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) |- |'''Christopher Palles'''{{efn|name=Note01}} |75px |5 November 1872 |10 February 1874{{efn|name=Note25}} | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} |Appointed as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer |- |'''John Thomas Ball'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |12 March 1874 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''Henry Ormsby''' | |21 January 1875 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Judge of the Landed Estates Court |- |'''George Augustus Chichester May'''{{efn|name=Note03}} | |27 November 1875 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench for Ireland |- |'''Edward Gibson'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |15 February 1877 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1885 |- |'''Hugh Law'''<br>{{small|MP for County Londonderry}} | |10 May 1880 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''William Moore Johnson'''<br>{{small|MP for Mallow}} | |17 November 1881 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''Andrew Marshall Porter'''<br>{{small|MP for County Londonderry}} | |3 January 1883 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''John Naish'''{{efn|name=Note04}} | |19 December 1883 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''Samuel Walker'''<br>{{small|MP for County Londonderry}} | |1885 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1886 - see below |- |'''Hugh Holmes'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |3 July 1885 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1886 - see below |- |'''Samuel Walker'''{{efn|name=Note05}} | |February 1886 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1892 |- |'''Hugh Holmes'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |August 1886 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''John George Gibson'''<br>{{small|MP for Liverpool Walton}} | |1887 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''Peter O'Brien''' |75px |1888 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland |- |'''Dodgson Hamilton Madden'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |1890 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''John Atkinson''' |75px |1892<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30495|title=Atkinson, John, Baron Atkinson}}</ref> | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1895 - see below |- |'''Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot'''{{efn|name=Note06}} | |August 1892 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office (he died before his party regained office) |- |'''John Atkinson'''<br>{{small|MP for North Londonderry}} |75px |8 July 1895 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed to the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary |}

===20th century=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name ! Portrait ! colspan=2 | Term of office ! colspan=2|Political party ! Reason for leaving office |- |'''James Campbell'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |4 December 1905 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Ministry left office - he was reappointed in 1916 - see below |- |'''Richard Cherry'''<br>{{small|MP for Liverpool Exchange (1906–10)}} |75px |22 December 1905 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Ireland |- |'''Redmond Barry'''<br>{{small|MP for North Tyrone (1907–11)}} |75px |2 December 1909 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''Charles O'Connor''' | |26 September 1911 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Master of the Rolls in Ireland |- |'''Ignatius O'Brien''' |75px |24 June 1912 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland |- |'''Thomas Molony''' | |10 April 1913 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''John Moriarty''' | |20 June 1913 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Ireland |- |'''Jonathan Pim''' | |1 July 1914 | | {{party name with colour|Liberal Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''John Gordon'''<br>{{small|MP for South Londonderry}} | |8 June 1915 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''James Campbell'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} |75px |9 April 1916 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland |- |'''James O'Connor''' | |8 January 1917 | | {{party name with colour|Nationalist Party (Ireland)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''Arthur Samuels'''<br>{{small|MP for Dublin University}} | |7 April 1918 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Ireland |- |'''Denis Henry'''<br>{{small|MP for South Londonderry}} | |6 July 1919 | | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as the first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, 15 August 1921 |- |'''Thomas Watters Brown'''<br>{{small|MP for North Down}} | |5 August 1921 |16 November 1921 | {{party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | Appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, 8 February 1922 |}

The office was vacant from 16 November 1921<ref>{{cite book|last1=Butler |first1=David|last2=Butler |first2=Gareth |title=British Political Facts, 1900–1994|page=9 |date=1994 |url= |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-333-52617-1}}</ref> 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== ===Footnotes=== {{notelist|refs= <ref name=Note01>He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Londonderry City in 1872.</ref> <ref name=Note02>He had unsuccessfully sought re-election for the parliamentary constituency of Dungarvan in 1868.</ref> <ref name=Note03>He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Carrickfergus in 1874.</ref> <ref name=Note04>He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of Mallow in 1883.</ref> <ref name=Note05>He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of North Londonderry in 1885.</ref> <ref name=Note06>He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of West Derbyshire in 1892.</ref> <ref name=Note07>{{harvtxt|Cook|Keith|1975|p=4}} states that the office was vacant under Peel's Conservative government of 1834-35. However, [https://www-oxforddnb-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2514?rskey=xlvDet&result=1 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 {{cite book | last = Blackburne | first = Edward | url = https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.85203/page/194/mode/2up?view=theater | title = Life of the Right Hon. Francis Blackburne: Late Lord Chancellor of Ireland | year = 1874 | publisher = Macmillan and Co. |page=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"</ref> <ref name=Note08>However, [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AChronicle_of_the_law_officers_of_Ireland.djvu/196 Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland] does not mention him, and neither [https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/354/mode/2up?view=theater Elrington Ball's ''The Judges in Ireland'', Volume 2, page 354] nor [https://www-oxforddnb-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-21864?rskey=k06Jnl&result=1 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".</ref> <ref name=Note09>"was in politics a conservative"</ref> <ref name=Note10>"was a conservative in politics"</ref> <ref name=Note11>"was [after 1798] allied with the tory party"</ref> <ref name=Note12>he was one of the "Grenvillites who [in 1822] joined Liverpool's government"</ref> <ref name=Note13>"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."</ref> <ref name=Note14>"something of a republican by nature, but fashioned by circumstances into a Tory"</ref> <ref name=Note15>"With all his present Toryism, he seems to have been then a Whig"</ref> <ref name=Note16>"though known to be a tory ... with a view to the Irish administration having a broad political base"</ref> <ref name=Note17>"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."</ref> <ref name=Note18>"nor was he ever in the Irish or British House of Commons"</ref> <ref name=Note19>"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"</ref> <ref name=Note20>"In 1714 he was replaced as Irish attorney general in the whig purge which followed the accession of George I."</ref> <ref name=Note21>"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"</ref> <ref name=Note22>"[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."</ref> <ref name=Note23>Date of patent</ref> <ref name=Note24>Date of Privy Seal</ref> <ref name=Note25>Date of appointment to office in next column</ref> <ref name=Note26>Attorney-General for Williamite Ireland only until the Treaty of Limerick of 3 October 1691</ref> <ref name=Note27>Date of the Treaty of Limerick</ref> <ref name=Note28>Attorney-General for Jacobite Ireland only after the appointment of Sir John Temple as Attorney-General for Williamite Ireland on 30 October 1690</ref> <ref name=Note29>Restored to the position when the secluded members of the Rump Parliament were allowed in February 1660</ref> <ref name=Note30>Some sources refer to him as King's Serjeant, but the roles of Serjeant and Attorney at the time were easily confused.</ref> }}

===References=== * ''Haydn's Book of Dignities'' (for pre-1691 names and dates) {{Reflist|2}}

===Sources=== * {{cite book |editor-last=Aspinall |editor-first=Arthur |editor-link=Arthur Aspinall (historian) |date=1968 |title=The later correspondence of George III |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/latercorresponde0004geor_a2a6/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access=registration}} * {{cite book|last=Ball |first=F. Elrington |title=The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 |year=1926a |publisher=John Murray |location=London |volume=I |url=https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10000unse/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater |author-link=F. Elrington Ball}} * {{cite book|last=Ball |first=F. Elrington |title=The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 |year=1926b |publisher=John Murray |location=London |volume=II |url=https://archive.org/details/judgesinireland10002ball/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater |author-link=F. Elrington Ball}} *{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Chris|title=British Historical Facts, 1830–1900|last2=Keith|first2=Brendan |date=1975 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London|isbn=978-1-349-01348-7}} *{{cite book |last=Sheil |first=Richard Lalor |author-link=Richard Lalor Sheil |date=1855 |title=Sketches Legal And Political |location=London |publisher=Published for Henry Colburn by his successors, Hurst & Blackett |volume=I |editor-last=Savage |editor-first=M.W.}}

===Further reading=== * {{cite book|last=Smyth|first=Constantine J.|title=Chronicle of the law officers of Ireland |year=1839|publisher=Henry Butterworth|location=London}}

===External links=== * [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/offices/attorney-general-for-ireland Attorney-General for Ireland], list of office holders 1835–1921, with links to their Hansard contributions; from millbanksystems.com

{{Dublin Castle administration}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attorney-General For Ireland}} Category:Attorneys-general for Ireland Category:Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom Category:Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom Category:Political office-holders in pre-partition Ireland