Denis George (c.1751 – 1821) was an Irish

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and judge who held office as

Recorder of Dublin The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. Functions and duties of the Recorder The Recorder was the chief magistrate for Dublin, and heard a wide range of civil and criminal cases. The office existed by th ...

, and then as Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...

. He enjoyed a high reputation among his contemporaries for integrity and benevolence.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.229

Personal life

He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, third son of Denis George of

St. Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Ar ...

, whose country estate was at Clophook near

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, about from Portlaoise and from Dublin. It is a townland, a civil parish, and historic barony. It is known for its annu ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, and his wife Sarah Young. His eldest brother Sir

Rupert George Captain Sir Rupert George, 1st Baronet (16 January 1749, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, Ireland – 25 January 1823, Willesden, London Borough of Brent, Greater London, England) was a British naval officer in the American Revolution, became the C ...

became a

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

, and was the first of the George baronets of Park Place and St. Stephen's Green. Denis married Dorothea Moore, daughter of Edward Moore,

Archdeacon of Emly The Archdeacon of Emly was a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Emly and its successor amalgamated dioceses.Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae Vol I pp101-105 Cotton, H.: Dublin, Hodges & Smith 1851 Notable archdeacons included Garrett Fit ...

and Ellen Dobson, of Mooresfort,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

in 1785, and they had five sons, including Richard (who died young in 1806) and two daughters, Ellen, who married into the prominent O'Grady family of Aghamarta Castle,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, and the younger Dorothea, who married Richard Featherstonhaugh of Rockview,

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. Dorothea died in 1814 and was buried at St. Nahi's Church, Dundrum, beside her infant son Richard. Denis retired from the Bench in 1821 and died at his home, Coldblow House in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the southside (Dublin), southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district. It is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and wa ...

, later the same year.

Career

Denis graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 1773, entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1774 and was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () 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 Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1776. He was a commissioner in

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, became Recorder of Dublin in 1785 and was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer in 1794. He was frequently called on to sit on special commissions to deal with political crime, notably after the

Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force w ...

, the

Irish Rebellion of 1803 The Irish rebellion of 1803 was an attempt by Irish Republicanism, Irish republicans to seize the seat of the British government in Ireland, Dublin Castle, and trigger a nationwide insurrection. Renewing the Irish Rebellion of 1798, struggle o ...

(which was led by

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

) and the agrarian unrest caused by a

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

called The Threshers in 1806. His speech of welcome for the new

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

, Henry Hutton, in 1803 shows how profoundly the Emmet Rising had shaken the ruling class, although he concluded optimistically that "the foul rebellion which disgraced our streets" had been defeated by firm Government action.

Reputation

Even the harshest critics of the Irish judiciary at that time had nothing but praise for George: he was described as a man of stainless reputation and of "unrivalled humanity".Ball p.255 There is an agreeable description of George and his wife wandering the grounds of Coldblow House each autumn to pick

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Denis 1750s births 1821 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Middle Temple Lawyers from Dublin (city) Recorders of Dublin