John Forster (1668 – 2 July 1720) 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.

Background

Forster was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, one of four children of Richard Forster and his wife Anne Webber. His father 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 fran ...

for Swords and came from a family long associated with the Dublin business community. Nicholas Forster,

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bis ...

, was his brother.

Career

Forster served as Recorder of Dublin from 1701 to 1714, and represented Dublin City in the

from 1703 to 1715. He was

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 ra ...

in 1709 and

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 ...

from Christmas Eve 1709 to 1711, before being raised to the Bench as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas on 20 September 1714. In 1713 he took part in the hotly contested Irish General Election and his constituency was the scene of the

Dublin election riot The Dublin election riot occurred during the hotly contested 1713 Irish general election, Irish General Election of 1713. It concerned the Dublin City (Parliament of Ireland constituency), Dublin City constituency, which returned two members to th ...

. Elrington Ball described Forster as "a sound lawyer and impressive speaker" but lacking in political judgment.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland'' 1221–1921 John Murray, London 1926 Like

Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton, PC (Ire) (c. 1656 – 29 August 1728) was a leading Irish lawyer and politician who sat in the Parliament of Ireland between 1692 and 1715 and in the British House of Commons from 1717 to 1728. He was Speake ...

, his mentor, he was stubborn and hot-tempered. His tenure as Recorder of Dublin saw a major conflict between the aldermen of Dublin and the Privy Council; Forster was entirely on the side of the aldermen, and for this, he was violently attacked by

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

and other critics. These attacks undoubtedly took their toll, and it is believed he exchanged the Recordership for the position of Chief Justice in the belief that the more senior position would, in practice, be less onerous than the Recordership.

Family

Forster married firstly Rebecca Monck, daughter of Henry Monck of St. Stephens Green, Dublin and his wife Sarah, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Stanley of

Grangegorman Grangegorman () is an inner suburb on the northside of Dublin city, Ireland. The area is administered by Dublin City Council. It was best known for decades as the location of St Brendan's Hospital, which was the main psychiatric hospital se ...

, by whom he had at least three children, Richard, Anne and Elizabeth. He married secondly Dorothy Evans, daughter of George Evans and Mary Eyre, and sister of

George Evans, 1st Baron Carbery George Evans, 1st Baron Carbery PC (Ire) (c. 1680 – 28 August 1749) was an Irish politician and peer. A member of a County Limerick family of Whigs, he entered the Irish House of Commons and was created a peer in 1715 as a reward for his father's ...

. They had a daughter, Dorothy. His son Richard married Elizabeth Geering in 1721, and died in 1738. His daughter Anne married the celebrated philosopher George Berkeley,

Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with oth ...

; her sister Elizabeth married Rev. Robert Spence. The youngest child Dorothy married Thomas Burton: they were the grandparents of another leading judge,

Thomas Burton Vandeleur Thomas Burton Vandeleur (c. 1767–1835) was an Irish barrister and judge. He was born in Kilrush, County Clare to a prominent landowning family of Dutch origin, which settled at Kilrush in the 1680s, and did much to improve the town. He was ...

. He died following a stroke at his home, Clonshagh,

Santry Santry () is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun. It straddles the boundary of Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council jurisdictions. The character of the area has changed ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, John 1667 births 1720 deaths Attorneys-General for Ireland 17th-century Irish lawyers Irish MPs 1703–1713 Irish MPs 1713–1714 Irish MPs 1715–1727 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Dublin constituencies Solicitors-General for Ireland Speakers of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Recorders of Dublin 18th-century Irish judges