Francis Bernard SL (1663 – 30 June 1731) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

lawyer, politician and judge. He was the son of Francis Bernard of Castle Mahon and Mary Freke, daughter of Arthur Freke of Rathbarry and Dorothy Smyth and sister of

Percy Freke Sir Percy Freke, 2nd Baronet (30 April 1700 – 10 April 1728) of West Bilney, Norfolk and Castle Freke, County Cork, was a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain and a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons. His first name was ...

. Bernard sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

. He represented

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

between 1692 and 1695 and subsequently Bandonbridge between 1695 and 1727. In politics he was described as a "furious Tory", as were his wife's father Stephen Ludlow and her sister Lady Rogerson (his wife's political views are less clear). He was appointed

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On rar ...

in 1711, a post he held until 1714, and Prime Serjeant in 1724. Two years later he became a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas, despite holding what were by then definitely the "wrong" political opinions. In 1693, Bernard married Alice Ludlow, daughter of Stephen Ludlow M.P, of Ardsallagh,

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 sou ...

and his wife Alice Lachard of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. They had six sons and one daughter, Elizabeth (1703-1743), who married first James Caulfeild, 3rd

Viscount Charlemont Viscount Charlemont is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1665 for William Caulfeild, 5th Baron Charlemont. The Caulfeild family descends from Sir Toby Caulfeild, originally of Oxfordshire, England. He was a noted soldier and ...

, and subsequently Thomas Adderley. His grandson

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, son of Major North Ludlow Bernard and his first wife Rose Echlin, inherited Castle Bernard, the main family residence, from his childless uncle Francis junior. He was the ancestor of the

Earls of Bandon Earl of Bandon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon. He had already been created Baron Bandon, of Bandon Bridge in the County of Cork, in 1793, Viscount Bandon, of Bandon Bridge ...

. The leading statesman

James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP PC (Ire) (18 August 1728 – 4 August 1799) was an Irish statesman. Life Early life The son of James Caulfeild, 3rd Viscount Charlemont, he was born in Dublin, and succeeded his father as 4th ...

was another of Bernard's grandsons. His death was sudden and unexpected: though close to seventy he had apparently been in good health, and he had been sitting in Court the day before he was found dead in his bed.Ball, F. Elrington ''"The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921"'' London John Murray 1926 p.117 Alice outlived her husband and died in 1741. An anonymous elegy praised him extravagantly: "rock of the law and nature's pride". It also suggested that his death was due to overwork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Francis 1663 births 1731 deaths 17th-century Irish lawyers 18th-century Irish lawyers Politicians from County Cork Irish MPs 1692–1693 Irish MPs 1695–1699 Irish MPs 1703–1713 Irish MPs 1713–1714 Irish MPs 1715–1727 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Solicitors-General for Ireland Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 18th-century Irish judges