Thomas Ulick Sadleir (15 September 1882 – 21 December 1957) was an Irish

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family ...

and

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

expert. He was successively registrar of the

Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, ...

, Deputy

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...

and Acting Ulster King of Arms.

Career

Sadleir's first involvement with the office of arms at

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 ...

was when he worked on an unpaid basis whilst an undergraduate 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 Univ ...

. He graduated in 1904, and was called to the bar in 1906. By 1913, he was working on a daily basis at the office, whilst practising as a barrister. In 1915 he was appointed registrar of the

George Dames Burtchaell George Dames Burtchaell, KC, MA, LLB, MRIA, JP (12 June 1853 – 18 August 1921) was an Irish genealogist. Education Burtchaell was educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College, Dublin. Career *Barrister King's Inns, 1879 * KC 1918 ...

, Deputy

. In practice, Sadleir carried out most of the day-to-day work of Ulster's office. In 1915, Sadleir wrote an unofficial 6th volume of the annual Georgian Society Records called "Georgian mansions in Ireland" along with Page Dickinson. It proved to be the last volume of the society's annual records until it was re-established as the modern

Irish Georgian Society The Irish Georgian Society is an architectural heritage and preservation organisation which promotes and aims to encourage an interest in the conservation of distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods across Ire ...

in 1958. In August 1921, Burtchaell was killed in a tram accident, and in September, Sadleir was appointed Deputy to

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Sir Neville Wilkinson,

. As Major Wilkinson was almost always absent from

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 ...

, Sadleir performed most of the duties of the office. The Office of Arms was unaffected by the creation of 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 December 1922, continuing to cover the whole of the island of

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 ...

, and remaining based in

. In December 1940, Major Wilkinson died, and the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

requested that no successor be appointed. For the next three years, Sadleir was Acting

. In 1943, the Government of Ireland established the

Genealogical Office The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald authorises the granting of arm ...

, which took over the records of the Office of Arms, while the title of Ulster King of Arms was merged with that of Norroy to become

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the River Trent, Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of ...

, a member of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Sadleir continued to work for the Genealogical Office until 1944, clearing the large backlog of grants and confirmations of arms that had built up in Ulster's office. After leaving the G.O., he continued his private genealogical practice. He maintained links with his former employer, however, remaining a trustee of the Heraldic Museum in Dublin until his death. Sadleir subsequently became a librarian at the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () 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 environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

in Dublin, a post he held until his death. On 29 August 1922, he married Anna Elizabeth Norman ("Norma"), daughter of Dr James and Anna Kenny of

Killeshandra Killeshandra or Killashandra () is a small town or village and civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located west of Cavan Town. Killeshandra town has a long record of participation in the National Tidy Towns competition and has won ...

, County Cavan, with whom he had two sons, Randal and Digby. Sadleir died at his home on Marlborough Road, Dublin on 21 December 1957, and was buried at Castleknock church, Dublin.

Arms

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Letters of Thomas Ulick Sadleir, 1893-1958
Genealogical Office, National Library of Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadleir, Thomas 1882 births 1957 deaths Irish genealogists Irish barristers Irish officers of arms Lawyers from County Kildare

Career

Arms

See also

References

Sources

External links