The Liberty of Thomas Court and Donore (also known as the Earl of Meath's Liberty) was one of several manors, or

liberties Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

, that existed in

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

since the arrival of the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sma ...

in the 12th century. They were adjacent to Dublin city, and later entirely surrounded by it, but still preserving their own separate jurisdiction. Originally the liberty was reckoned part of the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Uppercross. In 1774 it was erected into a separate barony called the Barony of Donore. The liberty's privileges were abolished in 1840, and the barony was abolished in 1842, when the area was transferred from the county to the city.

History

The origin of this liberty goes back to the founding of the church of St. Thomas in what is now Thomas St., near St. Catherine's church, in 1177. The founder was William FitzAldelm, deputy and kinsman of King Henry II. The church was dedicated to

Thomas à Beckett Sir Thomas à Beckett (31 August 1836 – 21 June 1919) was an Australian solicitor and judge. Personal Thomas à Beckett was born in London, England. He was the eldest son of Thomas Turner à Beckett and arrived in Australia with his fathe ...

(St. Thomas the Martyr), who had recently been murdered in his cathedral at Canterbury by followers of the king. The church, which became a rich and powerful monastery, was for the use of the Canons of the Congregation of St. Victor. In 1195 the head of

Hugh de Lacy Hugh de Lacy may refer to: * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Lassy (c.1020–1085), first recorded member of the Norman noble family de Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath (died 1186), 4th Baron Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Abbot of Shrewsbury (died c. 1215/18) *Hug ...

, who had been killed in 1187, was sent by the Irish for burial at the Abbey of St. Thomas. His body was buried by the Irish in

Bective Abbey Bective Abbey ( ga, Mainistir Bheigthí) is a Cistercian abbey on the River Boyne in Bective, County Meath, Ireland. The abbey was founded in 1147, and the remaining (well-preserved) structure and ruins primarily date to the 15th century. Th ...

, County Meath. A long controversy was then carried on between the two abbeys for his body, which was finally settled in favour of St. Thomas in 1205. In 1380 the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

forbade Irishmen from professing in this abbey. In 1538 Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. At this time the Abbey of St. Thomas Court held 56 rectories, of land, 67 houses, 47

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

s and 19 gardens. Most of the land was in Meath and Kildare. These possessions were distributed among several people, of which Sir William Brabazon (ancestor of the

Earl of Meath Earl of Meath is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created in 1627 and held by the head of the Brabazon family. This family descends from Sir Edward Brabazon, who represented County Wicklow in the Irish House of Commons and served as High Sher ...

) and Richard St. Leger were the major beneficiaries.Dalton: A New Picture of Dublin, Dublin, 1835. On 31 March 1545 Sir William Brabazon was granted the lands of the Abbey, with all jurisdictions, liberties, privileges, and so on. This grant was confirmed in 1609 to Sir Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee, his son. In 1579 the city of Dublin claimed the abbey to be within the jurisdiction and liberty of the city, but they lost their case. From then on the head of the liberty was the

Location

The liberty was located on the south side of the city. It included the parish of St. Luke (just off The Coombe, Dublin) and three-quarters of the parish of St. Catherine (surrounding Thomas Street) (both, of course,

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

, or civil, parishes). It was divided into four wards: Upper Coombe, Lower Coombe, Thomas Court and Pimlico.

Privileges

In return for the support of the prior of the abbey, or to alleviate certain hardships suffered by Englishmen or the church in Ireland, privileges were granted to the abbey. These allowed the abbey to have its own courts of justice, where it was allowed to try a limited number of crimes, mainly dealing with bad debts. The Earl of Meath inherited these privileges.Parliamentary Papers: Reports from Commissioners, Vol. 24. Session: 4 February - 20 August 1836. House of Commons, London. The courthouse, located in Thomas Court Bawn, was used as a church in the 1760s while St. Catherine's was being renovated, and later was used as a Sunday school. In 1809 the seneschal of the court-house was the renowned historian James Whitelaw, who was also vicar of St. Catherine's. The building fell into decay in the latter half of the century and was demolished in 1897. These rights and privileges were ended by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840.

Administration

The officers of the manor consisted of a seneschal, registrar and marshal, who were appointed by the Earl of Meath. The court-house was located in Thomas Court Bawn, off Thomas Street, while the gaol was in

Marrowbone Lane Marrowbone Lane () is a street off Cork Street on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. History Naming convention The street is likely named after Marylebone in London; Pimlico is located right next to it, and other London-inspired street names ar ...

. In 1813 the population of this manor was 4,639 males and 6,271 females.Government figures quoted in M'Gregor, Picture of Dublin (1821), p. 62

References

Sources

* ** For medieval liberty boundaries see

Citations

{{reflist History of Dublin (city) Donore Donore Places in Dublin (city) Burial sites of the De Lacy family