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 The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

in the

English Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was responsible for the safekeeping of the Chancery records such as

close roll The Close Rolls () are an administrative record created in medieval England, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands by the royal chancery, in order to preserve a central record of all letters close issued by the chancery in the name of the Crown ...

s and patent rolls. The office was created by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

in 1333, the first holder of the office being

Edmund de Grimsby Edmund de Grimsby, or de Grymesby (died 1354) was an English cleric, Crown official and judge. While his career in Ireland lasted only about a year, he is notable as having been the first Master of the Rolls in Ireland. He derived his name from h ...

. As the Irish bureaucracy expanded, the duties of the Master of the Rolls came to be performed by subordinates and the position became a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval ch ...

which was awarded to political allies of the Dublin Castle administration. In the nineteenth century, it became a senior judicial appointment, ranking second within the Court of Chancery behind the

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 ...

. The post was abolished by the Courts of Justice Act 1924, passed by the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

established in 1922.

History of the Office

Until the sixteenth century, the Master of the Rolls was always a clergyman. The office in its early centuries was closely associated with St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin: several medieval Masters of the Rolls served as either Dean or

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

of the Cathedral. The office was originally an administrative rather than a judicial office, and not all of the early Masters were qualified lawyers. As late as the mid-sixteenth century the office was held by John Parker, a layman who had made a fortune from selling hats; nor was his successor,

Henry Draycott Henry Draycott (c. 1510–1572) was an English-born Crown official and judge in sixteenth-century Ireland, who held a number of senior Government offices, including Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland. Despite his apparent lack of legal qualific ...

, as far as is known, a qualified lawyer; yet both performed the duties assigned to them more than competently. At that time, as the older title Keeper of the Rolls suggests, the Master's principal role was to have custody of the Chancery records. This office should not be confused with the separate office of Keeper of Writs and Rolls in the Court of the

Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch ...

. The Master might act through a Deputy if he was incapacitated or absent on official business, although no actual office of Deputy Master is known to have existed. William Sutton acted as Deputy to his uncle Robert Sutton in the 1420s and

Thomas Archbold Thomas Archbold, or Thomas Galmole (died after 1506) was a goldsmith and silver worker, who evidently qualified as a lawyer, and rose to become a senior Crown official and judge in Ireland in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He wa ...

deputised for Thomas Dowdall in 1479. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the office of Master was notoriously a

for absentee politicians, some of them British. Some of the appointments have been described as "farcical". Richard Rigby is said never to have set foot in Ireland during the 30 years he held the office, and William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, who succeeded him, had no qualifications whatever for judicial office.

Nineteenth-century reforms

In the nineteenth century, the office became a full-time judicial position: the Master acted as Deputy to the

, with full powers to hear any

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

brought in the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

. A number of gifted judges, including Sir Michael Smith, Edward Sullivan and Andrew Marshall Porter greatly enhanced the reputation of the office. Michael O'Loghlen was notable not only as a fine judge but as the first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

appointed to the Bench since 1688. The office was offered to

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, who admitted that it was ''the only office he truly wanted'' but who nonetheless refused it. Charles Andrew O'Connor, the last holder of the office, was sufficiently highly regarded to be appointed a judge of the new

Supreme Court of the Irish Free State The Supreme Court of the Irish Free State was the state's court of final appeal. It was created in Article 64 of the Irish Free State Constitution. It was presided over by a Chief Justice. The number of judges on the court was laid down in th ...

Supersession

The 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State prescribed a new court system for the new State but allowed the existing system, based on the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877, to persist as a transitional measure. In 1923, Charles Andrew O'Connor as Master of the Rolls participated in the Judiciary Committee established by the Free State Executive Council which planned the Courts of Justice Act 1924. In this capacity he caused controversy by refusing to admit an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...

written in Irish because he did not know the language. When the 1924 Act was passed, O'Connor became a judge of the new

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. The officers of the Chamber of the Master of the Rolls were transferred in 1926 to the

Examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * Tr ...

's Office.

List of Masters of the Rolls in Ireland

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1829) - Portrait of William Robert Fitzgerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster

*1333

*1334

William de Bardelby William de Bardelby (died 1337) was an English-born judge in Ireland. He took his name from his birthplace, Barlby, North Yorkshire. He was probably a cousin of William de Bardelby, who was Keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm in the reign of ...

*1337

Robert de Hemmingburgh Robert de Hemmingburgh (died 1349) was an English-born judge and priest, who held office as Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and possibly as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He took his name from his birthplace, Hemingbrough, in North Yorkshire. W ...

*1346

William de Whithurst William de Whithurst (died after 1350) was an English Crown official, who held office as a judge in Ireland. He appears to have been a native of Gloucester, where he was the tenant of lands formerly held by William de Holyns. He was a clerk in th ...

*1350 Robert de Leycestre *1356 Thomas de Cottingham *1372 Thomas de Thelwall *1377 Robert Sutton *1386 Thomas de Everdon, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral *1395

Robert de Faryngton Robert de Faryngton, or de Farrington (died 1405) was an English-born cleric, judge and statesman who became Lord High Treasurer of Ireland. As a cleric, he was notorious for pluralism, but he enjoyed the trust of three successive English monarchs ...

, or de Farrington *1395 Robert Sutton, second term *1395 John de Kirkby *1404 Robert Sutton, third term *1427 Richard Ashwell *1430 William Sutton *1436

Robert Dyke Robert Dyke, Dyck or Dyche (died 1449) was an English-born cleric and judge who held high office in fifteenth-century Ireland. He was appointed to the offices of Archdeacon of Dublin, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, Lord High Treasurer of ...

*1450

John Chevir John Chevir (c. 1410 – 1474) was an Irish judge and politician of the fifteenth century. He held the offices of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and was also one of the first recorded Speakers of the Irish Ho ...

*1461 Patrick Cogley *1461 Peter Trevers *1471 Thomas Dowdall *1492 Thomas Butler *1496 John Payne, Bishop of Meath *1513

Thomas Rochfort Sir Thomas Rochfort (c.1450-1522) was a distinguished Irish judge and cleric who held the offices of Solicitor General for Ireland (he was the first recorded holder of that office), Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathe ...

, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral *1521 Walter Wellesley, Bishop of Kildare *1522 Thomas Darcy, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral *1523 John Rycardes, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral *1528 Thomas Darcy, second term *1530 Anthony Skeffington *1533 John Alan *1539 Robert Cowley *1542 Thomas Cusack *1543 Nicholas Wycombe *1550 Patrick Barnewall *1552 John Parker *1566

*1572 Nicholas White, first term *1578 Edward Fitz-Symon *1578 Nicholas White, second term *1593 Anthony St Leger *1609 Francis Aungier, 1st Baron Aungier of Longford *1633

Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford (24 September 1592 – 3 December 1640) was an English administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1629. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland in the last months of his life. Life Wandesford was ...

*1641 Sir John Temple *1677

Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, statesman and essayist. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II, with whom he then fel ...

*1689

Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet (c.1643-1691) was the last of the Talbot baronets of Carton: his title was forfeited on account of his loyalty to King James II of England. He was an Irish politician and judge, who served briefly as Master of the ...

*1690

Sir William Temple Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, statesman and essayist. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II, with whom he then fel ...

, second term *1696 William Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley of Stratton *1731 Thomas Carter *1754 Henry Singleton *1759 Richard Rigby *1788 William Robert Fitzgerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster *1789 John Crosbie, 2nd Earl of Glandore and

John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort, KP, PC, PC (Ire), FRS (12 August 1751 – 7 April 1828) was a British judge, diplomat, Whig politician and poet. Background and education Carysfort was the son of John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort, ...

jointly *1801 Sir Michael Smith, 1st Baronet *1806 John Philpot Curran *1814 Sir William MacMahon, 1st Baronet *1837

Sir Michael O'Loghlen, 1st Baronet Sir Michael O'Loghlen, 1st Baronet (6 October 1789 – 28 September 1842) was a distinguished Irish judge and politician. He was born at Port Ruan, Ennis, County Clare, the third son of Colman O'Loghlen and his second wife, Susannah Finucan ...

*1842

Francis Blackburne Francis Blackburne PC (Ire) KS (11 November 1782 – 17 September 1867) was an Irish judge and eventually became Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Background Born at Great Footstown in County Meath, he was the son of Richard Blackburne of Great Foot ...

*1846 Thomas Berry Cusack Smith *1866 John Edward Walsh *1870 Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet *1883 Sir Andrew Porter, 1st Baronet *1906

Richard Edmund Meredith The Rt. Hon. Richard Edmund Meredith PC, QC (18 November 1855 – 26 January 1916), was the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, a Privy Councillor and Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission. Career Born at Summerhill, County Dublin, Mer ...

*1912 Charles Andrew O'Connor (last holder) Office abolished in 1924.

References

Sources