Thomas Dillon (c. 1535 – 1606) was an Irish judge and landowner: his descendants held the title

Baron Clonbrock Baron Clonbrock, of Clonbrock in the County of Galway, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 3 June 1790 for Robert Dillon, who had earlier represented Lanesborough in the Irish House of Commons. His grandson, the third Baro ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.224 He was born at Proudstown, near

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nbs ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

. He was a grandson of Gerald Dillon, whose elder brother Sir Robert Dillon founded the senior branch of the family which held the title

Earl of Roscommon Earl of Roscommon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Earl of Roscommon, James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of ...

. Thomas's father, Richard Dillon (died 1565), son of Gerald and his wife Ellen Macrery, was a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland). He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1559. He was called to the Bar; he was a member of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

and had a chamber there. He briefly held office as justice of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N1 ...

, then practised on the Connacht circuit. He became

Chief Justice of Connacht The Chief Justice of Connacht was the senior of the judges who assisted the Lord President of Connaught in judicial matters. Despite the Chief Justice's title, full judicial powers were vested in the Lord President, whose office was established in ...

in 1577 in which office he gained a reputation for integrity, and was suggested as a possible

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 ...

in 1582. In 1593, despite the general rule that a provincial Chief Justiceship should not be combined with a seat on the High Court Bench, he became a justice 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 stil ...

. He continued to spend most of his time in Connacht, but in 1596 he clashed with his formidable superior, Sir Richard Bingham, the

Lord President of Connaught The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569, and in ...

, and was committed to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the ...

as a result. He was restored to favour the following year, after Bingham himself suffered temporary disgrace and fled to England. Thomas lived mainly at Curraghboy,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

; his property was ravaged during the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarc ...

. He died in 1606 and was buried in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. He married Alice Shaen (or Farrell), daughter of Nicholas Shaen and Margaret Bathe (or Bath), and sister of Sir Francis Shaen or Shane, ancestor of the Shaen Baronets. Her stepfather Sir Thomas Lestrange (died 1590) was Bingham's Deputy as Lord President of Connaught. They had at least one son Robert (died 1628), and a daughter Jenet, who married Sir John Bathe of

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central ...

, a leading spokesman for the Roman Catholic community, by whom she had five children. Thomas's last direct male descendant was Robert Dillon, 5th

, who died in 1926.Pine, L.G. ''The New Extinct Peerages'' London 1972 p.75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Thomas People from County Meath 1606 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Year of birth uncertain Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Chief Justices of Connacht