Sir Nicholas Barnewall (died after 1465) was an Irish judge and landowner of the fifteenth century who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was the ancestor of the

Barnewall Baronets The Barnewall Baronetcy, of Crickstown Castle in the County of Meath, is a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 21 February 1623 for Sir Patrick Barnewall. He was the member of a family that had been settled in Ireland since 117 ...

of Crickstown. He was born at Crickstown,

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 ...

, the eldest son of Sir

Christopher Bernevall Christopher Bernevall, or Barnewall (1370–1446) was an Irish politician and judge of the fifteenth century, who held the offices of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was deeply involved in the political controvers ...

(died 1446) and his wife Matilda (or Maud) Drake (died before 1424), an heiress of the wealthy Drake family of Drakerath. She was a close relative, possibly a sister, of John Drake, who was three times

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 ...

in the early 1400s, and led the citizens of Dublin to a decisive victory over the O'Byrne clan 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 ...

at the Battle of Bloody Bank on the

River Dargle The River Dargle () is a river that flows from the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the Irish Sea. It forms Powerscourt Waterfall, receives the Glencree and Glencullen Rivers, and later the Glenmunder Stream / County Brook, and the Swan River ...

in 1402. Nicholas's father was

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

for more than a decade. Nicholas was "bred up to the law", and was appointed to the same office as his father in 1457, with a

knighthood 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 ...

. In 1461 he was superseded in favour of Sir Thomas Fitz-Christopher Plunket, but regained office later the same year. He retired about 1463, and was still alive in 1465. He married Ismay, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Robert Serjeant of

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent village in County Dublin, Ireland, located west of the centre of Dublin city. It is in the modern county of Fingal. In addition to the village, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: a ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

: they had at least two sons, Christopher and Edmund. Ismay's sister Joan married Sir Jenico d'Artois the younger, eldest son of the soldier and statesman Sir

Jenico d'Artois Sir Jenico d'Artois, Dartas, Dartass or Dartasso (c.1350 – November 1426) was a Gascony-born soldier and statesman, much of whose career was spent in Ireland. He enjoyed the trust and confidence of three successive English monarchs, and became ...

and his first wife Joan Taaffe of Liscarton Castle,

. There was a bitter dispute over the family inheritance between the two sisters and their respective husbands, from which the Barnewalls emerged the winners, acquiring far more than the half share of the estate to which Ismay was entitled by law. Christopher, Nicholas's eldest son, inherited Crickstown, where the Barnewall family remained for several generations. He married Ellen Butler, daughter of Edmund Butler, 8th

Baron Dunboyne Baron Dunboyne was a title first held by the Petit family some time after the Norman invasion of Ireland. History Dunboyne was part of the Lordship of Meath. The Petit family also had land holdings in Mullingar. In 1227, Ralph Petit became Bisho ...

. In 1623 his descendant Sir Patrick Barnewall was conferred with a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1623, which still exists. Ismay outlived her husband, and remarried the prominent

Yorkist 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, th ...

nobleman Sir Robert Bold, 1st and last

Baron Ratoath Baron Ratoath was a short-lived title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1468 for Sir Robert Bold, who died without male heirs in 1479. Robert Bold, Ist Baron Ratoath The barony of Ratoath was created in 1468 for the English-born sold ...

, who died in 1479. Catherine Bold, Lord Ratoath's daughter and heiress by his previous marriage, married Nicholas and Ismay's younger son Edmund Barnewall: they settled at Dunbrow in County Dublin, where their descendants remained for several generations. Nicholas's younger brother Robert was created the first

Baron Trimleston Baron Trimlestown, of Trimlestown in County Meath, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. Following the death of the 21st Baron in January 2024 with no known heir, the title is dormant, and may be extinct. History The title was created in 1461 ...

in 1461.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'' 3rd Edition London 1846 *Lodge, Edmund ''British Peerage'' London 1838 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnewall, Nicholas Lawyers from County Meath Lords chief justice of Ireland

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

15th-century Irish lawyers 15th-century Irish judges