Denis George (c.1751 – 1821) was an Irish

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and judge who held office as Recorder of Dublin, and then as 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 justic ...

. He enjoyed a high reputation among his contemporaries for integrity and benevolence.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.229

Personal life

He was born in

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

, third son of Denis George of

St. Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Lo ...

, whose country estate was at Clophook near Stradbally in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

, and his wife Sarah Young. His eldest brother Sir

Rupert George Captain Sir Rupert George, 1st Baronet (16 January 1749, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, Ireland – 25 January 1823, Willesden, London Borough of Brent, Greater London, England) was a British naval officer in the American Revolution, became the ...

became a post-captain, and was the first of the George baronets of Park Place and St. Stephen's Green. Denis married Dorothea Moore, daughter of Edward Moore, Archdeacon of Emly and Ellen Dobson, of Mooresfort,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

in 1785, and they had five sons, including Richard (who died young in 1806) and two daughters, Ellen, who married into the prominent O'Grady family of Aghamarta Castle,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, and the younger Dorothea, who married Richard Featherstonhaugh of Rockview,

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

. Dorothea died in 1814 and was buried at St. Nahi's Church, Dundrum, beside her infant son Richard. Denis retired from the Bench in 1821 and died at his home, Coldblow House in Donnybrook, Dublin, later the same year.

Career

Denis graduated as

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

in 1773, entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1774 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1776. He was a commissioner in

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, became Recorder of Dublin in 1785 and was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer in 1794. He was frequently called on to sit on special commissions to deal with political crime, notably after the Rebellion of 1798, the Irish Rebellion of 1803 (which was led by Robert Emmet) and the agrarian unrest caused by a

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

called The Threshers in 1806. His speech of welcome for the new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Henry Hutton, in 1803 shows how profoundly the Emmet Rising had shaken the ruling class, although he concluded optimistically that "the foul rebellion which disgraced our streets" had been defeated by firm Government action.

Reputation

Even the harshest critics of the Irish judiciary at that time had nothing but praise for George: he was described as a man of stainless reputation and of "unrivalled humanity".Ball p.255 There is an agreeable description of George and his wife wandering the grounds of Coldblow House each autumn to pick blackberries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Denis 1750s births 1821 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Middle Temple Lawyers from Dublin (city) Recorders of Dublin