Recorder Of Kinsale
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The recorder of Kinsale was a judicial office-holder in pre-independence
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He was the chief
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 ...
of the town of
Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...
. Given the population of the town, which has fluctuated between 5000 and 7000 over the years, the need for a full-time
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 ...
may be questioned. However Kinsale has been a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
ed town since 1334, and the charter granted by Elizabeth 1 in 1589 explicitly provided for the office of
Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
, as did that granted to Clonakilty by
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
in 1613.Lewis ''Topographical Dictionary of Ireland '' The first recorder of Kinsale whose name is definitely known is Robert Slighe, who served in that office between approximately 1601 and 1615. Like other Irish recorders, the recorder of Kinsale was not a
Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
appointment, but was elected by Kinsale Corporation, also known as the Court of the Hundred. They could annul the election, as they did that of John Dowdall in 1692. In addition to presiding at criminal trials, it seems likely that he held a weekly court of
Petty session Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...
to deal with routine judicial business, as his colleague the
recorder of Clonakilty Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
did. The Reorder was also charged with keeping the peace. Henry Bathurst, in the 1650s, was much occupied with curbing the supposed threat to public order posed by the large
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
community in County Cork, and was accused, perhaps unfairly, of being a "great persecutor" of that
religious denomination A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition, among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Oriental Orthodox Churches, non-Chalcedonian, E ...
. Due to the size of the town, the recorder's duties were not especially onerous: the salary was a modest 15 shillings a year. The duties of the recorder were often combined with another Government post. Henry Bathurst was also
Recorder of Cork The recorder of Cork was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. The recorder was the chief magistrate of Cork city: his principal duty was to keep the peace. The office was very similar to that of the recorder of Dublin, except that ...
, as was William Worth.
Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet PC (25 March 1650 – 3 May 1733) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland from 1701 to 1703, Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1703 to 1707 and as Lord Chief Justice ...
, was also
Recorder of Clonakilty Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
from 1675: he later went on to hold high judicial office, notably as
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 ...
. William Rowley, who was the elder brother of Admiral Sir
Josias Rowley Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet, (1765 – 10 January 1842) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Birth and family Rowley was born in 1765 the second son of Clotworthy Rowle ...
, and who was Recorder from 1796 to 1812, combined that position with the office of Commissioner of Customs for Kinsale, and also sat in the
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...
as member for
Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...
. Like all Irish recorderships within their jurisdiction, the office was abolished by the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
in 1924.


List of recorders of Kinsale (incomplete)

*1601 Robert Slighe *1630s William Galway (died 1637)O'Hart Vol. 2. *1652 Major Richard Hodden *1656 Henry Bathurst (also
Recorder of Cork The recorder of Cork was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. The recorder was the chief magistrate of Cork city: his principal duty was to keep the peace. The office was very similar to that of the recorder of Dublin, except that ...
) *1676 William Worth, also Recorder of Cork and later a Baron of the
Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...
*1681-1689
Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet PC (25 March 1650 – 3 May 1733) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland from 1701 to 1703, Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1703 to 1707 and as Lord Chief Justice ...
(also Recorder of Clonakilty, later Lord Chancellor of Ireland) *1691 John Dowdall ''election declared invalid'' *1692 Francis Bernard, later
Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an 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 legal matters. On r ...
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 ...
*? Joseph Busteed (died 1734) *1734
Stephen Bernard Stephen Jarrod Bernard FSA FRSA FRHistS FHEA (born 1975) is an Academic Visitor at the Faculty of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford and a member of University College. A prize-winning essayist, editor, and bibliographer, he ...
, of Prospect Hall, son of Francis Bernard; Stephen was also MP for Bandonbridge *1762 Dominick Sarsfield *1796 William Rowley (also MP for Kinsale) *1816 Anthony Connell (died 1832) *1870s William Meade


Sources

*''Burke's Peerage'' 107th Edition Delaware 2003 *Fuller, Abraham and Holms, Thomas ''A Compendious View of Some Extraordinary Sufferings of the Quakers in Ireland'' 2nd Edition Dublin 1731 *Lewis, Samuel ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'' London S. Lewis and Co 1837 *O'Hart, John ''Pedigrees of Ireland'' 5th Edition 1892 *''Warrant issued by Robert Slighe, Recorder of Kinsale 7 July 1615''


Notes

{{reflist Political office-holders in pre-partition Ireland People from Kinsale