Sir Jonas Greene (1767-1828) 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

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, who held the office of

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 ...

. 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 ...

, the eldest son of Richard Greene.Montgomery-Massingberd p.497 He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, although few details of his legal practice seem to survive. In a letter he wrote to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

in 1823 he claimed that his private practice had been extremely lucrative; in pleading for an increase in

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

, he referred to the serious financial loss he had suffered in accepting an official position.National Archives of Ireland CSO/RP/1823/2369

Recorder of Dublin

In 1822 he was made Recorder of Dublin and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. The Recorder was the chief

for Dublin city, with responsibility for keeping the peace. The office was an onerous one and was generally agreed to have a heavier workload than a High Court judge. Greene from the available evidence seems to have been a particularly diligent and hard-working official. A debate on the duties of the Recorder of Dublin in the

English House of Commons The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

, held three years after his death, revealed that he held two sessions of his court every week, with extra sessions as the workload required. Within a little over a year of taking up office he was writing to

Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...

, the

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

, asking for an increase in salary appropriate to the very heavy workload, and complaining that his pay was already in arrears.

Family

He married in 1790 the leading Dublin actress Marianne Hitchcock. She was the daughter of

Robert Hitchcock Robert Charles Hitchcock (born 18 August 1944) is an Australian sculptor. He commenced his career in 1970 and works in a wide variety of subjects and materials. Hitchcock is one of the leading portrait sculptors currently working in Australia ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, the author and playwright, best remembered for ''An Historical View of the Irish Stage,'' and his wife Sarah Webb, who like her daughter was a popular actress on the Dublin stage. They had twelve children. The eldest son,

Richard Wilson Greene Richard Wilson Greene PC, KC (1791–1861) was an Irish barrister and judge. He was born in Dublin, the son of Sir Jonas Greene, who was Recorder of Dublin from 1822 until his death in 1828, and his wife, the leading actress Marianne Hitchc ...

, followed his father to the Bar and became a senior

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 ...

. Of their daughters, Harriet married the Reverend William Fortescue Gorman of Tannaghmore,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. They were the parents of William Gorman,

Archdeacon of Ossory The Archdeacon of Ossory was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Ossory until 1835 and then within the Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin until 1977 when it was further enlarged to become the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory. As ...

1883-1911. Harriet died in 1839, aged about 32. Her sister Marianne married William Wallace, and another sister Elizabeth married John Gason. Several other sisters died unmarried. Their brother Arthur married Frances Shaw, a relative of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

. Arthur's daughter Cecilia married as his first wife

Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire), KC (19 June 1832 – 13 August 1911) was an Irish Liberal politician, lawyer and judge. He was the first of the Walker baronets of Pembroke House. Career He was born at Gore Port, Finea, County ...

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

. Jonas died at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in early March 1828, having been ill for several months.''Newry Commercial Telegraph'' 14 March 1828 Marianne died in 1854, and was buried in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

. Five of her children, Jonas junior, Rachel, Harriet, Sarah and Catherine, are interred in the same grave as their mother. Richard Wilson Greene

Arms

Sources

* ''Annual Register for the Year 1828'' * Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 * * ''Hansard's Parliamentary Debates 1831'' * Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh ''Burke's Irish Family Records'' London 1976 *

National Archives of Ireland The National Archives of Ireland () is the official repository for the state records of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office (founded 1702) and the Publi ...

* "Ven. William Gorman" entry in ''Who was Who 2020''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Jonas Recorders of Dublin Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Irish barristers Lawyers from Dublin (city) 1767 births 1828 deaths