St George Caulfeild (16 September 1697 – 17 May 1778) was

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 ...

. He was a popular and respected judge, who was known in old age as "the good old man".Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1721'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 2 p.144 He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It is 19 km north of Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk is Cruachan, an Iron Age (Gaelic) royal palace. As recou ...

between 1727 and 1751. He was appointed to the

Irish Privy Council 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 ...

on 14 October 1751. He was admitted to

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

in 1716 and called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

in 1723. He was solicitor to the Revenue in 1734,

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...

1739-41,

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 ...

1741-1751 and

1751-60.Ball p.140 He was the fourth son of William Caulfeild, judge of the

Court of King'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 Be ...

and his wife Lettice, daughter of

Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet (c. 1640 – 20 December 1697) was an Irish soldier and politician. Gore was the second son of Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and his wife Isabella Wycliffe, daughter of Francis Wycliffe. In 1656, he was High Sheriff ...

by Eleanor, daughter of Sir George St George (knight of Carrickdrumrusk). He was the great-grandson of William Caulfeild, 2nd Baron Caulfield. He was highly esteemed by both his British and Irish colleagues for his learning and humanity. Ball refers to his conduct of an

abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

case where he refused to allow defence counsel to cross-examine the victim about her personal life, asking how any man of honour and compassion could propose to ask such questions of a young woman. In 1759 he was one of several judges attacked by a mob outside the

. The target was not Caulfield, who was very popular, but

John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes PC (I) (1691 – 22 July 1767) was an Anglo-Irish peer, politician and judge. He was noted for his great legal ability, but also for his implacable hostility to Roman Catholics. Life He was born in London, the se ...

, whose strong support for the Penal Laws had made him much hated by the

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 ...

section of public.Ball p.209 He retired in 1760; although he had a house at Aungier St. in central

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, he spent much of his time at the family estate, Donamon Castle,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...

In 1770 he was attacked and wounded there by his former

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their o ...

. Ball refers to a prayer attributed to

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...

which may actually have been written by Caulfield. He died unmarried in 1778.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfeild, St George 1697 births 1778 deaths Attorneys-General for Ireland

St George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Solicitors-General for Ireland Lords chief justice of Ireland