Sir James Dowdall (died 1584) was an Irish judge of the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

who briefly held office as

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...

. He should not be confused with James Dowdall, the Catholic

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, who was his cousin.

Early career

He was born in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, eldest son of Christopher Dowdall, and nephew of George Dowdall (died 1558),

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

. His mother was Thomasine Cusack, daughter of John Cusack of Cussington and his first wife Alison de Wellesley, and sister of Sir Thomas Cusack,

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

. James was something of a favourite of his uncle Thomas, who encouraged him to pursue a legal career. The

Dowdall Dowdall is an Irish surname. The earliest forms of spelling were: Dowdell, Dowdale and Dowdle. Dowdall was first used as a surname in Yorkshire, certainly by the time of the Norman conquest of England. The Irish Dowdalls came from the valley of Do ...

family, originally called Dovedale, came to Ireland from the valley of

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. Their main estates were at Newtown and

Termonfeckin Termonfeckin or Termonfechin () is a small village and townland in County Louth, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is within the parish of the same name, and lies north-east of Drogheda. The population of the village tripled in the 20 years betw ...

, both in County Louth. Other notable family members included Sir

Robert Dowdall Sir Robert Dowdall (died 1482) was an Irish judge who held the office of Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas for more than forty years. He is mainly remembered today for the murderous assault on him by Sir James Keating, the Prior of Kilmain ...

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the s ...

in the previous century, and Robert's son

Thomas Dowdall Thomas Patrick Dowdall (1872 – 7 April 1942) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and company director. Early life He was born at Chatham Barracks, Gillingham, Kent, the son of Charles Dowdall, colour sergeant in the 48th foot, and Margare ...

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respons ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.210 Dovedale

James entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

before 1549; an entry in the Inn's books survives from 1554 stating that he was ordered to shave his

beard A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. Throughout the course of history, societal at ...

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

appointed him

Principal Solicitor for Ireland The Principal Solicitor for Ireland was one of the Irish Law Officers in the sixteenth century. The office originated in a rather unusual way, from a dispute between two rivals for the Office of Solicitor General for Ireland, Patrick Barnewall and ...

in 1554 and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

confirmed him in office and later gave him an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...

for his diligence in attending the

Court of Castle Chamber The Court of Castle Chamber (which was sometimes simply called ''Star Chamber'') was an Irish court of special jurisdiction which operated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was established by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571 to deal with ca ...

(the Irish equivalent of

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

). He resided mainly at Knock in County Louth.

Family

He married Elizabeth Thunder, member of a prominent

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

family (their unusual surname is thought to derive from the French ''Tonnerre''). The Francis Thunder, merchant of Dublin, who was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

in 1619 presumably belonged to the same family. They had one daughter Ellen, who married John Barnewall. Elizabeth was still alive in 1587, when Sir Henry Colley sued her as the

executrix An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

of her husband's estate, for debts he had incurred by standing

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

for his brother Patrick.

Later career

He was appointed a justice of the

Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Benc ...

in 1565 and was transferred to the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

in 1577; he was also appointed Chief Justice of Munster, and sat on the Royal Commission to establish the government of that province. He was chosen for several

diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

missions over the years, and conducted negotiations on behalf of the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...

with Shane O'Neill and with the Earl of Desmond. In 1583 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

and appointed Lord Chief Justice, but died the following year.Shaw, William A. and Burtchaell, George D. ''The Knights of England- a Complete Record from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' Sherratt and Hughes (1906) Vol. 2 p,82 According to Elrington Ball he was highly esteemed by his colleagues, and exercised a powerful political influence, especially in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdall, James People from County Louth 1584 deaths 16th-century Irish judges Members of Lincoln's Inn Year of birth unknown People of Elizabethan Ireland Lords chief justice of Ireland Chief Justices of Munster Principal Solicitors for Ireland