Robert Downes (1708 – 24 June 1754) was an Irish politician, who is chiefly remembered as father of William Downes, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and the 1st

Baron Downes Baron Downes, of Aghanville in the County Offaly, King's County, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 10 December 1822 for William Downes, 1st Baron Downes, William Downes, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1803 to 1822, with ...

. He was the only son of

Dive Downes Dive Downes (b Thornby, Northamptonshire 1652 – d Dublin 1709) was Bishop of Cork and Ross from 1699 to 1709. Downes was born in Northamptonshire, son of the Reverend Lewis Downes. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in ...

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...

, and his fourth wife Catherine Fitzgerald, daughter of Honorable Robert FitzGerald and his wife Mary Clotworthy, and sister of

Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare PC (Ire) (4 May 1675 – 20 February 1743), known as Robert FitzGerald until 1707, was an Irish peer. Background Kildare was the son of the Hon. Robert FitzGerald, younger son of George FitzGerald, 16th Ea ...

. His father had come to Ireland from

Thornby, Northamptonshire Thornby is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. It has a Manor house. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 162 people, increasing to 189 at the 2011 Census. The village is bisected by the A51 ...

in the 1670s. Robert married Elizabeth Twigge, daughter of Thomas Twigge of Donnybrook, and had two sons, Dive (died 1798), a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and

William Downes, 1st Baron Downes William Downes, 1st Baron Downes PC (1751 – 3 March 1826) was one of the leading Irish judges of his time, who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Family Downes was the second son of Robert Downes (1708-1754) of Donnybrook Castle ...

(1751-1826),

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 ...

, as well as at least two daughters. Downes 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 the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Kildare Borough from 1735 to his death in 1754.E. M. Johnston-Liik
''MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800''
(Ulster Historical Foundation, 2006), p.85 (Retrieved 23 February 2016). He lived at Donnybrook Castle,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. His death was agreed to be accidental, due to running himself through with his own sword.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downes, Robert 1691 births 1754 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies