Francis Blackburne PC (Ire) KS (11 November 1782 – 17 September 1867) was an Irish judge and eventually became

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

Background

Born at Great Footstown in

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 ...

, he was the son of Richard Blackburne of Great Footstown and nephew of Anthony Blackburne, Deputy Lieutenant and

High Sheriff of Meath The High Sheriff of Meath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Meath, Ireland, from the conquest until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Meath County Sheriff. The sheriff ...

. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Francis Hopkins (1724-1778) of Gillstown, Co. Meath and Darvistown,

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 ...

, a first cousin of Sir Francis Hopkins M.P., 1st

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Athboy,

; they were two of the great-grandsons of

Ezekiel Hopkins Ezekiel Hopkins (died 1690) was an Anglican divine in the Church of Ireland, who was Bishop of Derry from 1681 to 1690. Life He was born in Devon, and was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a choris ...

Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a ...

during the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

, by his second wife, Araminta, daughter of

John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor and Viscount Bodmin (160617 July 1685), known as The Lord Robartes (or John, Lord Roberts) between 1634 and 1679, was a Cornish politician, who fought for the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. ...

. Blackburne was educated 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 ...

at the school of Rev. William White before entering

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1798, later winning a scholarship, gold medal (1803) and other distinctions. He finally graduated in 1806 (M.A.) and was a member of the Old Historical Society.

Judicial career

He was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

in 1805 and practised with great success on the home circuit. He was noted for his mastery of all branches of the Law, and his great powers of mental concentration. Blackburne was nominated a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1822, and administered the

Insurrection Act The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law that empowers the President of the United States to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppres ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

for two years, effectually restoring order in the district. In 1826, he became the King's Third Serjeant-at-law and in 1830 was advanced to the Second Serjeant. A year later, he was appointed

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the ...

in the Whig administration of

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

'though known to be a tory ... with a view to the Irish administration having a broad political base' and on this occasion was sworn of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. He held the post as Attorney-General until 1834; he was readmitted in 1841 and after serving for a year, became

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respons ...

. As Attorney General he clashed with

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, with whom his relations were always bad, when he insisted, against O'Connell's wishes, on the appointment of

Abraham Brewster Abraham Brewster PC (Ire) (April 1796 – 26 July 1874) was an Irish judge and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Background and education Brewster was born at Ballinulta, the son of William Bagenal Brewster, of Ballinulta, County Wicklow, by his wife ...

Law Adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Law Adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was a Law Officer of the English Crown in nineteenth-century Ireland. The office lapsed in the 1880s, due apparently to concerns that it was becoming too political, but was briefly revived in the e ...

(in effect, a deputy to Brewster himself). Blackburne's statement that he "would not tolerate a refusal to ratify the appointment", is an indication of the influence which could then be wielded by a strong Attorney General. In 1845, he was chosen Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench. Blackburne was appointed

in February 1852, but was replaced in October. After a break of four years, he became Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery in Ireland. In 1858, "he was invited by Lord Derby again to become lord chancellor, but he declined on account of his advanced age and failing health. He changed his mind, however, and decided to accept Derby's offer but was told that the position had been offered to and accepted by Joseph Napier". He was bitterly disappointed, referring to the decision as "a harsh and cruel blow" and a poor reward for the sacrifices he had made. In 1866, he began a second term as Lord Chancellor, which ended with his death in the next year. Blackburne prosecuted

(who regarded him as a personal enemy) and presided at the trial of

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

. From 1851, he was vice-chancellor of 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 ...

. A devoted member of the

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 second ...

, he opposed any measure hostile to its interests, arguing that an attack on the Church was an attack on the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

itself.

Family

In 1809, he married Jane Martley, daughter of William Martley of Ballyfallen,

and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Rothwell of Berford, County Meath. They were the parents of six sons and three daughters, of whom only five outlived their father. Blackburne bought

Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham Castle ( ga, Caisleán Rath Fearnáin) is a 16th-century fortified house in Rathfarnham, South Dublin, Ireland. The earlier Irish castle was occupied by the Harold family, who held it as tenants of the le Bret family. It was replac ...

in 1852, where his family continued to reside for three generations. Their son Edward Blackburne (1823–1902) inherited Rathfarnham.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburne, Francis 1782 births 1867 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Attorneys-General for Ireland Lord chancellors of Ireland Lords chief justice of Ireland Masters of the Rolls in Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People from County Meath Scholars of Trinity College Dublin Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)