The High Sheriff of County Cork was the Sovereign's judicial representative in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became an annual appointment following the

Provisions of Oxford The Provisions of Oxford were constitutional reforms developed during the Oxford Parliament of 1258 to resolve a dispute between King Henry III of England and his barons. The reforms were designed to ensure the king adhered to the rule of law and ...

in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, the sheriff had ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. The first (High) Shrievalties were established before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

in 1066 and date back to

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. In 1908, an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...

made the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. Despite however that the office retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county.

High Sheriffs of County Cork

*1319: John FitzSimon *1343 Nicholas de Barry *1344: David Barry, 5th Lord Barry *1355: John LumbardA genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Ireland *1358: John Lumbard *1377: John Warner *1386: Robert Thame *1400: Robert Cogan ''Patent Roll 1 Henry IV '' *1401: John Barry, 7th Lord Barry *1403–1415: John Barry, 7th Lord Barry *1433: William Barry, 8th Lord Barry *1451: William Barry, 8th Lord Barry *1461: William Barry, 8th Lord Barry *1568-1570: Sir

Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently ...

*1580: Cormack MacTeige

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

References

{{High Shrievalties

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

History of County Cork