The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

)

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

government office. The holder was a deputy to the

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act 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 ...

, and advised

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

on Irish legal matters. On rare occasions, there was also a Deputy Attorney-General, who was distinct from the Solicitor-General. At least two holders of the office, Patrick Barnewall (1534–1550) and Sir Roger Wilbraham (1586-1603), played a leading role in Government, although in Barnewall's case this may be partly because he was also King's Serjeant. As with the

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to ad ...

, the Solicitor-General for Ireland was usually a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

rather than a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. The first record of a Solicitor General is in 1511, although the office may well be older than that since the records are incomplete. Early Solicitors almost always held the rank of

Serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...

. In the sixteenth century a

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 ...

shared the duties of the office: confusingly both were usually referred to as "the Solicitor". The Principal Solicitor might also be a Serjeant-at-law, as Richard Finglas was.

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". Eli ...

thought poorly of her Irish-born Law Officers, and from 1584 onwards there was a practice, which lasted for several decades, of appointing English-born lawyers as Solicitor General. At least one of them, Sir Roger Wilbraham (in office 1586-1603), was a key figure in the Dublin government for many years. Unlike the Attorney General, he was not as a rule a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execu ...

, although he might be summoned by the Council to advise it. With the establishment of 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 ...

in 1922, the duties of both the Attorney General and Solicitor General ''for'' Ireland were taken over by the Attorney General ''of'' Ireland, and the office of Solicitor General was abolished, apparently as an economy measure. This led to complaints over many years about the undue burden of work which was placed on the Attorney General, whose office was seriously understaffed until the 1930s.

Solicitors-General for Ireland (1511–1922)

16th century

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 ...

: appointed 1511 * Thomas Luttrell: 9 September 1532 – 1534 * Patrick Barnewall: 17 October 1534 – 1550 * John Bathe: 16 October 1550 – 1554 * James Dowdall: 20 July 1554 – 1565 * Nicholas Nugent: 17 April 1565 – 1574 * Richard Bellings: February 1574 – 1584 *

Jesse Smythes Jesse (or Jessua) Smythes (died 1594) was an English born judge and colonist in Elizabethan Ireland. He held office as Solicitor General for Ireland and Chief Justice of Munster, and was heavily involved in the Plantation of Munster. He was noted ...

: 7 July 1584 – 1586 * Roger Wilbraham: 11 February 1586 – 1603 Sir Roger Wilbraham 1553-1616

17th century

* Sir John Davies: 18 September 1603 – 1606 * Sir Robert Jacobe: 19 April 1606 – 1618 * Sir Richard Bolton: 31 December 1618 – 1622 * Sir Edward Bolton: 5 December 1622 – 1640 * Sir William Sambach: 8 June 1640 – ? *

William Ellice William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of ...

: 1657 – 1658 (Commonwealth) *

Robert Shapcote Robert Shapcote, JP (born 1621, died 1689) was an English lawyer from Devon and four times Member of Parliament for Tiverton in 1646–1649, 1654, 1656 and 1660. He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Wicklow Borough from 1661 to 1665 and w ...

: 1658 – 1660 (Commonwealth) * Sir John Temple: 10 July 1660 – 1689 *Sir Theobald Butler: 1689 – 25 July 1689 * Sir Richard Levinge, Bt 3 November 1689 – 1695 *

Alan Brodrick Alan Brodrick may refer to: * Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton ( 1656–1728), Irish lawyer and politician * Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton (1702–1747), British peer and cricket patron * Alan Brodrick, 12th Viscount Midleton Viscou ...

: 10 May 1695 – 1704

18th century

* Sir Richard Levinge, Bt: 4 April 1704 – 1709 * John Forster: 8 September 1709 – 24 December 1709 *

William Whitshed William Whitshed (1679–1727) was an Irish politician and judge who held office as Solicitor-General and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland; just before his death he became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He became the Member of Parliament ...

: 24 December 1709 – 1711 * Francis Bernard: 4 June 1711 – 1714 * John Rogerson: 8 November 1714 – 14 May 1720 *

Thomas Marlay Thomas Marlay (c.1680–1756) was an Irish politician and judge, who ended his career as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He is remembered chiefly for beginning the rebuilding of Celbridge Abbey, and as the grandfather of the statesman Henry Gratt ...

: 13 October 1720 – 1727 * Robert Jocelyn: 5 April 1727 – 29 September 1730 * John Bowes: 29 September 1730 – 3 September 1739 * St George Caulfeild: 24 September 1739 – 23 December 1741 *

Warden Flood Warden Flood (1694 – 16 April 1764) was an Irish judge who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, but is mainly remembered now as the natural father of the statesman Henry Flood. He was born at Burnchurch in County Kilkenny, son of Franc ...

: 24 December 1741 – 27 August 1751 *

Philip Tisdall Philip Tisdall SL (1 March 1703 – 11 September 1777) was an Irish lawyer and politician, who held the office of Attorney-General for Ireland. He was for many years a leading figure in the Irish Government. Background He was born in County Lou ...

: 27 August 1751 – 31 July 1760 * John Gore: 31 July 1760 – 24 August 1764 * Marcus Paterson: 29 August 1764 – 18 June 1770 * Godfrey Lill: 18 June 1770 – 1774 * John Scott: 13 July 1774 – 17 October 1777 * Robert Hellen: 31 October 1777 – 1779 * Hugh Carleton: 7 April 1779 – 30 April 1787 * Arthur Wolfe: 1 May 1787 – 16 July 1789 *

John Toler John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury PC, KC (3 December 1745 – 27 July 1831), known as The Lord Norbury between 1800 and 1827, was an Irish lawyer, politician and judge. A greatly controversial figure in his time, he was nicknamed the "Hanging Jud ...

: 16 July 1789 – 26 June 1798 * John Stewart: 26 June 1798 – 9 December 1799

19th century

* William Cusack-Smith: 6 December 1800 – 1801 * James McClelland: 17 December 1801 – 1803 * William Conynham Plunket: 22 October 1803 – 15 October 1805 *

Charles Kendal Bushe Charles Kendal Bushe (1767 – 10 July 1843), was an Irish lawyer and judge. Known as "silver-tongued Bushe" because of his eloquence,Healy, Maurice ''The Old Muster Circuit'' Michael Joseph Ltd. 1939 he was Solicitor-General for Ireland from ...

: 15 October 1805 – 14 February 1822 * Henry Joy: 20 February 1822 – 18 June 1827 * John Doherty: 18 June 1827 – 23 December 1830 *

Philip Cecil Crampton Philip Cecil Crampton PC (May 1783 in Dublin – 29 December 1862) was a judge, politician and Solicitor-General for Ireland. He was also a noted supporter of the cause of total abstinence from alcohol. He was born in Dublin, the fourth son of ...

: 23 December 1830 – 21 October 1834 *

Michael O'Loghlen 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 Finucane ...

: 21 October 1834 – 1834 *

Edward Pennefather Edward Pennefather PC, KC (22 October 1774 – 6 September 1847) was an Irish barrister, Law Officer and judge of the Victorian era, who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Early life Pennefather was born in Tipperary, the second ...

: 27 January 1835 – 1835 *

: 29 April 1835 – 1835 * John Richards: 21 September 1835 – 10 November 1836 *

Stephen Woulfe Stephen Woulfe (1787 – 2 July 1840) was an Irish barrister and Whig politician. He served as Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1836 and as Attorney-General for Ireland in 1838. He was the first Roman Catholic to be appointed Chief Baron of th ...

: 10 November 1836 – 3 February 1837 *

Maziere Brady Sir Maziere Brady, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire) (20 July 1796 – 13 April 1871) was an Irish judge, notable for his exceptionally long, though not particularly distinguished tenure as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Background Brady was born at his parents ...

: 3 February 1837 – February 1839 *

David Richard Pigot David Richard Pigot, PC, KC (c. 1796 – 22 December 1873) was one of the leading Irish judges of his time. His children included John Edward Pigot, a noted music collector and one of the founders of the National Gallery of Ireland. His grandc ...

: 11 February 1839 – 14 August 1840 * Richard Moore: 14 August 1840 – 1841 *

21 September 1841 – 1841 * Joseph Devonsher Jackson: 10 November 1841 – 9 September 1842 *

Thomas Cusack-Smith Sir Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith PC (1795 – 13 August 1866) was an Irish politician and judge. He was nicknamed "TBC Smith" or "Alphabet Smith". Family and education He was the younger son of Sir William Cusack-Smith, 2nd Baronet, Baron of the ...

: 21 September 1842 – 1 November 1842 *

Richard Wilson Greene Richard Wilson Greene PC, KC (1791–1861) was an Irish barrister and judge. He was born in Dublin, the son of Sir Jonas Greene, who was Recorder of Dublin from 1822 until his death in 1828, and his wife, the leading actress Marianne Hitch ...

: 1 November 1842 – 2 February 1846 * Abraham Brewster: 2 February 1846 – June 1846 * James Henry Monahan: 16 July 1846 – 24 December 1847 * John Hatchell: 24 December 1847 – 23 September 1850 *

Henry George Hughes Henry George Hughes (10 August 1810 – 22 July 1872) was an Irish judge, politician, and third Exchequer of Ireland, Baron of the Court of Exchequer. In 1850 he was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland. He was elected Member of Parliament ...

: 26 September 1850 – February 1852 *

James Whiteside James Whiteside (12 August 1804 – 25 November 1876) was an Irish politician and judge. Background and education Whiteside was born at Delgany, County Wicklow, the son of William Whiteside, a clergyman of the Church of Ireland. His father w ...

: February 1852 – December 1852 *

William Keogh William Nicholas Keogh PC (1817– 30 September 1878) was an unpopular and controversial Irish politician and judge, whose name became a byword in Ireland for betraying one's political principles. Background He was born in Galway, son of Wil ...

: April 1853 – March 1855 * John FitzGerald: March 1855 – March 1856 *

Jonathan Christian Jonathan Christian, SL, QC, PC (I) (17 February 1808 in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary – 29 October 1887 in Dublin), was an Irish judge. He served as Solicitor-General for Ireland from 1856 to 1858. He was a judge of the Court of Common P ...

: March 1856 – February 1858 *

: February 1858 – 1858 * Edmund Hayes: 1858 – June 1859 *

John George John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

: June 1859 – 1859 * Rickard Deasy: 1859 – February 1860 * Thomas O'Hagan: February 1860 – 1861 *

James Anthony Lawson James Anthony Lawson, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire), Queen's Counsel, QC (1817–1887) was an Irish academic, lawyer and judge. Background and education Lawson was born in Waterford. He was the eldest son of James Lawson and Mary Anthony, da ...

: 1861 – 1865 * Edward Sullivan: 1865 – June 1866 * Michael Morris: 3 August 1866 – 1 November 1866 * Hedges Eyre Chatterton: 8 November 1866 – 1867 * Robert Warren: 1867 – 1867 * Michael Harrison: 1867 – 1868 *

John Thomas Ball John Thomas Ball QC (24 July 1815 – 17 March 1898) was an Irish barrister, judge and politician in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Life He was born in Dundrum, Dublin, e ...

: 1868 – 1868 * Henry Ormsby: 1868 – 1868 * Charles Robert Barry: 12 December 1868 – 26 January 1870 *

Richard Dowse Richard Dowse PC (1824 – 14 March 1890) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge, who was reputed to be the wittiest Parliamentary orator of his time. Background He was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, eldest son of William Dowse ...

: 14 February 1870 – 13 January 1872 *

Christopher Palles Christopher Palles (25 December 1831 – 14 February 1920) was an Irish barrister, Solicitor-General, Attorney-General and a judge for over 40 years. His biographer, Vincent Thomas Hyginus Delany, described him as "the greatest of the Irish judge ...

: 6 February 1872 – 5 November 1872 * Hugh Law: 18 November 1872 – February 1874 * Henry Ormsby: 12 March 1874 – 21 January 1875 * Hon. David Plunket: 29 January 1875 – 1877 * Gerald FitzGibbon: 3 March 1877 – 1878 *

Hugh Holmes Hugh Holmes QC (17 February 1840 – 19 April 1916) was an Irish Conservative Party, then after 1886 a Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom Parliament and subsequently a Judge of the High Court and Court of Appeal in I ...

: 14 December 1878 – April 1880 *

William Moore Johnson Sir William Moore Johnson, 1st Baronet, KC, PC (1828 – 9 December 1918) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge. He was held in great affection by the Bar, despite a reputation for obtuseness which led to his nickname "Wooden-headed Bill ...

: 24 May 1880 – 17 November 1881 * Andrew Porter: 18 November 1881 – 3 January 1883 * John Naish: 9 January 1883 – 19 December 1883 * Samuel Walker: 19 December 1883 – 1885 * The MacDermot: 1885 – June 1885 * John Monroe: 3 July 1885 – November 1885 * John George Gibson: 1885 – January 1886 * The MacDermot: February 1886 – July 1886 * John George Gibson: August 1886 – 1887 * Peter O'Brien: 1887 – 1888 *

Dodgson Hamilton Madden Dodgson Hamilton Madden (28 March 1840 – 6 March 1928) was an Irish Unionist Alliance Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom Parliament He was also a leading barrister, who held office as Serjeant-at-law, Attorney General for Irel ...

: 1888 – 1890 * John Atkinson: 1890 – 1892 *

Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Unionism in Ireland, Irish u ...

: June 1892 – August 1892 * Charles Hare Hemphill: August 1892 – 1895 * William Kenny: 28 August 1895 – 1898 * Sir Dunbar Plunket Barton: 1898 – 1900

20th century

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

: 30 January 1900 – 1903 * James Campbell: 8 July 1903 – 1905 *

Redmond Barry Sir Redmond Barry, (7 June 181323 November 1880), was a colonial judge in Victoria, Australia of Anglo-Irish origins. Barry was the inaugural Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, serving from 1853 until his death in 1880. He is arguably ...

: 20 December 1905 – 2 December 1909 * Charles O'Connor: 2 December 1909 – 26 September 1911 * Ignatius O'Brien: 19 October 1911 – 24 June 1912 *

Thomas Molony Sir Thomas Francis Molony, 1st Baronet, PC(Ire), KC (1865–1949) was the last Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was also the only Judge to hold the position of Lord Chief Justice of Southern Ireland although he did not hold that position unde ...

: 24 June 1912 – 10 April 1913 * John Moriarty: 25 April 1913 – 20 June 1913 * Jonathan Pim: 20 June 1913 – 1 July 1914 *

James O'Connor James O'Connor may refer to: Politics and law * James O'Connor (Louisiana politician) (1870–1941), U.S Representative from Louisiana * James F. O'Connor (1878–1945), U.S Representative from Montana * James Francis Thaddeus O'Connor (1886–1 ...

: 1 July 1914 – 8 January 1917 * James Chambers: 19 March 1917 – June 1917 * Arthur Warren Samuels: 12 September 1917 – 7 April 1918 * John Blake Powell: 7 April 1918 – 1918 *

Denis Henry Sir Denis Stanislaus Henry, 1st Baronet, (7 March 1864 – 1 October 1925), was an Irish lawyer and politician who became the first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Henry was born in Cahore, Draperstown, County Londonderry, the son of ...

: 27 November 1918 – 6 July 1919 * Daniel Martin Wilson: 6 July 1919 – June 1921 * Thomas Watters Brown: 12 June 1921 – 5 August 1921 *''Office abolished thereafter''

Principal Solicitors for Ireland (1537–1574)

Walter Cowley Walter Cowley (c.1500 – 1548) was an Irish lawyer and politician who was the first holder of the office of Principal Solicitor for Ireland, which was created for him. He was a client of Thomas Cromwell, and later of John Alan, the Lord Chance ...

: 7 September 1537 – 1546 * John Bathe: 7 February 1546 – 1550 *

Richard Finglas Richard Finglas (died 1574) was an Irish barrister and Law Officer of the sixteenth century. He belonged to the prominent Finglas family of Westphailstown (or Westpalstown), County Dublin, and must therefore have been a close relative, probably a ...

: 17 October 1550 – 1574There is considerable confusion as to who held the offices of Solicitor-General and Principal Solicitor during this period. Smyth states that Finglas was Principal Solicitor from 1554 until his death in 1574. Hart gives the same date for Finglas's death but refers to him as Solicitor General. * James Dowdall: 20 July 1554 – 1565 * Lucas Dillon 1565 – 1566 * John Bathe: 20 October 1570 – 1574