Francis Hardy (1751–1812) was an Irish barrister, politician and biographer. Francis Hardy Heath

Life

Hardy graduated B.A. at

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 1771, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1777. In politics, he was an associate of Henry Grattan. In 1783, through the interest of the

Earl of Granard Earl of Granard is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1684 for Arthur Forbes, 1st Viscount Granard. He was a lieutenant-general in the army and served as Marshal of the Army in Ireland after the Restoration and was later Lord ...

, Hardy was returned as member for Mullingar in 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 chamb ...

. Hardy sat as representative for Mullingar from his first entrance into parliament until the Union with Great Britain in 1800/01. He was an effective speaker, but only took part in major debates. Although he was short of money Hardy declined governmental overtures, by which it sought to induce him to vote for the legislative union with Great Britain. After the Union, Hardy retired to the country, and passed much of his time with Grattan and his family. He was appointed a commissioner of appeals at Dublin in 1806. He died on 26 July 1812, and was interred at Kilcommon,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Works

Hardy co-operated with

Lord 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 ...

in the establishment of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

at Dublin in 1786, and in 1788 contributed to its publications a dissertation on some passages in the '' Agamemnon'' of

Æschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, wikt:Αἰσχύλος, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre be ...

. The publication of some of the writings of Charlemont, who had died in 1799, was planned by Hardy; and he then undertook a biography at the suggestion of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. He received assistance from the Charlemont family, Grattan and others. It appeared in London in 1810, ''Memoirs of the Political and Private Life of James Caulfield, Earl of Charlemont, Knight of St. Patrick''. The memoirs are not completely accurate. An edition with little alteration was issued in London in 1812, in two volumes.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Francis 1751 births 1812 deaths Irish barristers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Westmeath constituencies Irish biographers Irish male writers Male biographers Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Longford constituencies