The High Sheriff of County Waterford was the Sovereign's judicial representative in

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

. Initially, an office for a lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became an annual appointment following the

Provisions of Oxford The Provisions of Oxford ( or ''Oxoniae'') were constitutional reforms to the government of late medieval England adopted during the Oxford Parliament of 1258 to resolve a dispute between Henry III of England and his barons. The reforms were de ...

in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, the sheriff had ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. The first High Sheriff of County Waterford whose name is known for certain seems to be Maurice de Porta in 1235; Sir William de la Rochelle was High Sheriff in 1262–3, and William of London in 1270–3. Probably the most powerful of the early Sheriffs was Sir Walter de la Haye, a highly regarded Crown administrator and later a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, who held office from 1272 to 1284. Unusually, instead of stepping down after a year, De la Haye's term in office continued year after year for more than a decade. He was then appointed Chief Escheator in 1285, and was briefly

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 monar ...

in 1294–6. The first (High) Shrievalties were established before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066 and date back to

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

times. In 1908, an

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

made the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. Despite that, however, the office retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county.

High Sheriffs of County Waterford

*1235-1236: Maurice de Porta *1262-1263: Sir William de la Rochelle *1270-1271: William of London *1272-1284: Sir

Walter de la Haye Sir Walter de la Haye or de Haye (died after 1309) was an English-born statesman and judge in Ireland of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, who served for many years as Sheriff of County Waterford and as Chief Escheator of Ireland ...

*1390: Peter Poer *1408: John Lyverpole *1414: Nicholas Walshe *1424: Nicholas Poer *1535: Sir Richard Poer *1607:

Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde Sir Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde (1570?–1646), was an Irish peer who held office as governor of the fort of Duncannon in County Wexford. He was a leading Irish Royalist commander in the English Civil War, but was later suspected of dislo ...

of Lymbricke *1613: Sir Richard Smyth of Ballynatray *1639: Edward Fitzgerald *1644: Andrew Lynn *1663:

Valentine Greatrakes Valentine Greatrakes (14 February 1628 – 28 November 1682), also known as "Greatorex" or "The Stroker", was an Irish faith healer who toured England in 1666, claiming to cure people by the laying on of hands. Early life Greatrakes was born o ...

*1666: Richard Moore of Clonwel *1670: John Nettles of Toureen *1671: Sir Richard Osborne, 2nd Baronet *1672: Sir Thomas Osborne, 5th Baronet *1673: *1678: Thomas Christmas *1676: Richard Christmas *1687: Richard Fitzgerald *1689:

John Hore John HoreAlternative spellings of Hore's surname include "Hoar" and "Hoare" (baptised 13 March 1680 – 12 April 1763Other sources give Hore's year of birth as 1690, and year of death as 1762) was an English engineer, best known for making the Ri ...

*1690: Benjamin Bolton *1691:

18th century

19th century

20th century

*1900: Lucien William Bonaparte Wyse of the Manor of St Johns. *1901: Richard John Ussher of Cappagh House. *1902: John Henry Graham Holroyd Smyth *1903: *1905: William Joseph Gallwey of Rockfield,

Tramore Tramore (; ) is a seaside town in County Waterford, on the southeast coast of Ireland. It has a population of 11,277 as per the 2022 census, the second largest town in the county. Overview Originally a small fishing village, the area saw rapi ...

. *1906: John Congreve of Mount Congreve. *1907: Henry Chavasse. *1908: William Moore Perceval-Maxwell of Moore Hill,

Tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

. *1909: Hon. Claud Anson. *1909: Robert Conway Dobbs Dobbs. *1910: James Grove White of Kilbyrne. *1911: Sir John Keane, 5th Baronet. *1913: John William Rivallon de la Poher Poer, 2nd (papal) Count de la Poer. *1914: Sir Herbert William Davis-Goff, 2nd Baronet. *1915: *1919: Sir Alexander Kay Muir, 2nd Baronet.

References

{{High Shrievalties High sheriffs of County Waterford

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

History of County Waterford