James Fitzwilliam (died 1420) was an Irish landowner and

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 the office of

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Irish Court of Exchequer. This was a mirror of the equivalent court in England, and was one of the four courts which sat in the building in Dublin which is still ...

. He was the ancestor of the prominent Dublin landowning family which acquired the titles

Viscount FitzWilliam Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in th ...

and

Earl of Tyrconnell Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1 ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 1 p. 173 He was the son of Hugh Fitzwilliam. The Fitzwilliam family are recorded 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 ...

from about 1210. By the time of James' birth, they were already considerable landowners in Dublin, with their estates centred on Dundrum and

Swords A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''History of the Parishes of Dublin'' Alexander Thom and Co. Dublin 1903 Vol. 2 pp. 1–7 Few details of his legal career survive, but it is known that he was Chief Baron by 1413 and was superseded in 1417.

Family and descendants

He married, after 1390, a daughter of Sir

John Cruys Sir John Cruys or Cruise (died 1407) was a prominent Irish military commander, diplomat and judge of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. He was one of the most substantial landowners in County Dublin and County Meath and built Mer ...

or Cruise (died 1407) and his wife Matilda Verdon of Clonmore (now Togher),

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, one of several marriages between the two families, and had at least one son, Phillip. Cruys was a distinguished

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

and a major landowner in Dublin, who held the manors of

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) southw ...

Stillorgan Stillorgan (, also and previously or ), formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, and contains many housing estates, shops and oth ...

and Thorncastle, which comprise roughly modern

Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin ...

Merrion Castle Merrion Castle was a castle situated about 300m south of the present-day Merrion Gates, to the south of Dublin city centre. Built in the early fourteenth century, it was from the sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century the principal s ...

, Sir John's principal dwelling, subsequently became the main Fitzwilliam residence, although Sir John had a son, Sir Thomas Cruys, who inherited his estates, and at his death in 1424 left two sons, Edward and Christopher. Whereas Sir John was forgiven payment of the Crown

rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

on his estates, due to the devastation of his lands by Irish clans from County Wicklow, the Fitzwilliams were assessed at £5 and 8 shillings a year. In 1406 there were complaints that James was unlawfully intruding into the Cruys estates at Merrion and Thorncastle, and alienating property there, but he received a royal

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

. Probably, in anticipation of Cruys's death, he was attempting to assert his ownership against the rightful heir. the family estates are said to have suffered serious depredations during his minority. He was a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of his father's successor as Chief Baron,

James Cornwalsh James Cornwalsh (died 1441) was an Irish judge who held the office of Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. He was a political figure of considerable importance in fifteenth-century Ireland, and a supporter of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, James Bu ...

; ironically Cornwalsh was

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

20 years later in a private war with the Fitzwilliam family over the disputed possession of

Baggotrath Castle Baggotrath Castle, or Baggotsrath Castle, was a castle situated at present-day Baggot Street in Dublin city centre. It was built in the late thirteenth century by the Bagod (later called Baggot) family, for whom it was named. For much of its h ...

, although Philip himself was not, as far as is known, personally involved in the

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

, which was carried on mainly by his cousin William Fitzwilliam and William's wife Ismay Perrers.Ball 1926 p.100 Philip lived mainly at Thorncastle (his cousin Edward Cruys had died by 1432, although Edward did have a brother Christopher) which he rebuilt in 1437 after it was burnt in a raid by one of the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

clans of

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

.Kimber, Edward ''"Peerage of Ireland"'' London 1768 Vol. 2 p.36 He received a grant from the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Sax ...

for the necessary works, presumably because it was an important part of the city's defences. During the early stages of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, he was described as a "counsellor" to King

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...

. Later he changed his allegiance and sided decisively with the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...

, giving good service against King Henry and his allies. Thorncastle passed to his son and heir Stephen, who was living there in 1463.

References

1420 deaths Lawyers from Dublin (city) 15th-century Irish judges Year of birth unknown Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer {{Ireland-law-bio-stub