John Cusacke (died 1626) was a wealthy

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, landowner and local politician in seventeenth-century

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 ...

, who served as both Mayor and Sheriff of Dublin city. He was born 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 ...

, eldest of the ten children of Patrick Cusacke of Ballymolghan and his wife Maud Plunkett, daughter of Thomas Plunkett of

Loch Gabhair Loch Gabhair (Lagore), meaning "Lake of the Goats", is an area in the barony of Ratoath, County Meath, Ireland. It is located between the villages of Ratoath and Dunshaughlin and is the namesake of the townlands of Lagore Big (Loch Gabhar Mór) an ...

(Lagore),

Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2016 census, there were 9,533 people living in Ratoa ...

. The Cusacks were recorded at Ballymolghan from 1508. He was admitted as a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the city of Dublin in 1592, having served his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

. He married Margaret Allen, daughter of Giles Allen, a former Mayor of Dublin, and widow of John Gough, an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. They had five children, including Robert, who inherited his father's estate and sat 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 ...

as MP for Kells in 1640–1642, and Anne, who married Richard Barry. John served as

Sheriff of Dublin City Sheriff of Dublin City was a judicial and administrative role in Ireland. Initially, the Sovereign's judicial representative in Dublin, the role was later held by two individuals and concerned with a mix of judicial, political and administrative ...

in 1599–1600 and was an

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

from 1604 until his death. He was active on several committees of the corporation, notably one to lobby for the corporation's interests in the forthcoming

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of 1613–1615, and served as the Corporation's Treasurer in 1610–1611. He was

Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

in 1608–1609: Robert Kennedy, who had hoped to be mayor, was passed over, apparently because he was a

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

. John himself, though he conformed outwardly to the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

faith, was sympathetic to

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and was an active member of Saint Anne's Guild, the leading Catholic guild in Dublin, helping to defend its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

when it was under threat. He served four terms as one of the masters of the Dublin Merchants'

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

, and on its behalf, he petitioned the English Crown in 1609 for repayment of loans owing to the Irish Treasury: he claimed that £1300 was owed to him personally, an indication of his wealth. He became a substantial landowner in Dublin and Meath. The principal Cusacke family home was

Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...

Castle (which had been built by the Segrave family in the sixteenth century). It stood in Rathgar, which is now a suburb of Dublin: he bought the castle in 1609. All trace of it has vanished today, but it probably stood on present-day Highfield Road. He was the grandfather of two distinguished judges: Robert, his eldest son, was the father of Adam Cusack, justice of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

, and his daughter Anne was the mother of

James Barry, 1st Baron Barry of Santry James Barry, 1st Baron Barry of Santry PC (Ire) (1603–1673) was an Irish lawyer, judge and peer. Early life Barry was the son of Richard Barry and his wife Anne Cusacke; Anne was the daughter of John Cusacke of Rathgar Castle and his wife Marga ...

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...

Sources

*Armstrong, Robert "John Cusack " ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' Cambridge University Press *Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 *''Close Roll 23 Henry VII 4 May 1508'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusacke, John Lord Mayors of Dublin Businesspeople from Dublin (city) 1626 deaths Year of birth unknown