Thomas Dillon (c. 1535 – 1606) was an Irish

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and landowner: his descendants held the title

Baron Clonbrock Baron Clonbrock, of Clonbrock in the County of Galway, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 3 June 1790 for Robert Dillon, who had earlier represented Lanesborough in the Irish House of Commons. His grandson, the third Baro ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.224 He was born at Proudstown, near

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population, tenth largest settlement 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 ...

. He was a grandson of Gerald Dillon, whose elder brother Sir Robert Dillon founded the senior branch of the family which held the title

Earl of Roscommon Earl of Roscommon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The fourth Earl was a court ...

. Thomas's father, Richard Dillon (died 1565), son of Gerald and his wife Ellen Macrery, was a judge of the

Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) 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 King's Benc ...

. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1559. He 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 ...

; he was a member of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

and had a chamber there. He briefly held office as justice of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

, then practised on the

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

circuit. He became

Chief Justice of Connacht The Chief Justice of Connacht was the senior of the judges who assisted the Lord President of Connaught in judicial matters. Despite the Chief Justice's title, full judicial powers were vested in the Lord President, whose office was established in ...

in 1577 in which office he gained a reputation for integrity, and was suggested as a possible

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 ...

in 1582. In 1593, despite the general rule that a provincial Chief Justiceship should not be combined with a seat on the High Court Bench, he became a 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 ...

. He continued to spend most of his time in Connacht, but in 1596 he clashed with his formidable superior, Sir Richard Bingham, the

Lord President of Connaught The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569, and in 1 ...

, and was committed to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

as a result. He was restored to favour the following year, after Bingham himself suffered temporary disgrace and fled to England. Thomas lived mainly at Curraghboy,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

; his property was ravaged during the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

. He died in 1606 and was buried in

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 ...

. He married Alice Shaen (or Farrell), daughter of Nicholas Shaen and Margaret Bathe (or Bath), and sister of Sir Francis Shaen or Shane, ancestor of the Shaen Baronets. Her stepfather Sir Thomas Lestrange (died 1590) was Bingham's Deputy as Lord President of Connaught. They had at least one son Robert (died 1628), and a daughter Jenet, who married Sir John Bathe of

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central a ...

, a leading spokesman for the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

community, by whom she had five children. Thomas's last direct male descendant was Robert Dillon, 5th

, who died in 1926.Pine, L.G. ''The New Extinct Peerages'' London 1972 p.75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Thomas People from County Meath 1606 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Year of birth uncertain Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Chief Justices of Connacht