Sir Edward Loftus (1563–1601) was an Irish barrister, judge and soldier of the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

. He was born 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 c ...

, the second son of Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, and his wife Jane Purdon, daughter of James Purdon and Jane Little. His father was also Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and Edward followed him into the legal profession. He was

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Irish Bar. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not commonly ...

1597–1601 and held office very briefly as

Recorder of Dublin Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * '' Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a new ...

. He was noted for his legal scholarship, and wrote a manual listing all the legal terms which were then in common usage in the Irish Courts. He was also a professional soldier who fought in 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 monarch ...

, and was knighted for his services to the English Crown by

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following ...

, in 1599. He was killed at the

Siege of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

on 10 May 1601. He married Anne Duke, daughter and co-heiress with her sister Mary of Sir Henry Duke of Castlejordan,

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 ...

and his wife Elizabeth Brabazon, daughter of Sir William Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer of Ireland and his wife, the much-married heiress Elizabeth Clifford. She died in childbirth shortly after Edward's death; their only child, a daughter, lived just a few days. Edward and Anne are buried in the family

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

which his father had built in

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cat ...

Sources

*Hart, A. R. ''A History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland'' Dublin Four Courts Press 2000 *Lodge, John ''Peerage of Ireland'' London 1754 *Stokes, Rev. ''Dudley Loftus- a Dublin Antiquary of the Seventeenth Century'' (1890) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Series 5 Vol.1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Edward Recorders of Dublin Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Irish knights Lawyers from Dublin (city) Edward 1563 births 1601 deaths Military personnel from Dublin (city)