Godfrey Lill (born 1719, died 1783 in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

) was an Irish politician,

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Kingdom of Ireland, 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 ...

, and judge of 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 sti ...

. He became the Member of Parliament for Fore in 1761 and Baltinglass in 1768. He was appointed as Solicitor-General in 1770, and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1774.

Early life

He was born in Dublin, third son of Thomas Lill. He was educated at

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 ...

, where he was a scholar in 1737: he took his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1739 and his master's degree in 1741. He was considered one of the finest students of his generation. He 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 1738, and was called to the Irish bar in 1743.

Family

He married Mary Bull, daughter of Nathaniel Bull of Surrey and had two daughters, Mary who married William Brereton, and Sarah who married Andrew Stewart, 1st Earl Castle Stewart. His father-in-law was an associate of the Duke of Newcastle, and Godfrey's rise to power is generally thought to have been due to the connection. He became Master in Chancery 1749–1760,

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1760, and Third Serjeant in 1767.

Character

He was a skilful orator, nicknamed "Smooth Godfrey" but in his career was often accused of poor judgement, hesitating before accepting a position on the bench, and refusing twice to become Chief Justice.Ball pp.163-4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lill, Godfrey 1719 births 1783 deaths Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Solicitors-general for Ireland Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Westmeath constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)