Robert Hellen (born 1725, died 1793 in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the southside (Dublin), southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district. It is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and wa ...

) was an Irish politician,

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, 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 ...

Early life

He was born at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, son of Robert Hellen senior. His family moved to Dublin where he was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, taking his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1746 and Bachelor of Laws in 1749. He entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1749 and was called to the Irish bar in 1755. He became King's Counsel in 1774.

Career

He became the Member of Parliament for Bannow in 1768 and Fethard (County Wexford) in 1776. He was appointed as

in 1777, and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1779.

Family

He married Dorothea Daniel of Dublin in 1761; Dorothea was wealthy but it may have been a love marriage since she was also noted for beauty and charm. They had four daughters.

Character

When young he was described rather sentimentally as "a youth of fair fame and gentle endowments". In later life he was noted for his literary tastes: he enjoyed the company of poets and writers like Charlotte Brooke, and built up an impressive library and picture collection. He was considered a poor politician, but a learned judge.Ball, pp.164,179

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellen, Robert 1725 births 1793 deaths Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Solicitors-general for Ireland People from Whitehaven Justices of the Irish Common Pleas