Thomas Ulick Sadleir (1882–1957) was an Irish

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

expert. He was successively registrar of the

Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

, Deputy

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is t ...

and Acting Ulster King of Arms.

Career

Sadleir's first involvement with the office of arms at

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 ...

was when he worked on an unpaid basis whilst an undergraduate at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. He graduated in 1904, and was called to the bar in 1906. By 1913, he was working on a daily basis at the office, whilst practising as a barrister. In 1915 he was appointed registrar of the

George Dames Burtchaell George Dames Burtchaell, KC, MA, LLB, MRIA, JP (12 June 1853 – 18 August 1921) was an Irish genealogist. Education Burtchaell was educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College, Dublin. Career *Barrister King's Inns, 1879 * KC 1918 ...

, Deputy

. In practice, Sadleir carried out most of the day-to-day work of Ulster's office. In 1915, Sadleir wrote an unofficial 6th volume of the annual Georgian Society Records called Georgian mansions in Ireland along with Page Dickinson. It proved to be the last volume of the society's annual records until it was re-established as the modern

Irish Georgian Society The Irish Georgian Society is an architectural heritage and preservation organisation which promotes and aims to encourage an interest in the conservation of distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods across Ire ...

in 1958. In August 1921, Burtchaell was killed in a tram accident, and in September, Sadleir was appointed Deputy to

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Sir Neville Wilkinson,

. As Major Wilkinson was almost always absent from

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 ...

, Sadleir performed most of the duties of the office. The Office of Arms was unaffected by the creation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

in December 1922, continuing to cover the whole of the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and remaining based in

. In December 1940, Major Wilkinson died, and the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

requested that no successor be appointed. For the next three years, Sadleir was Acting

. In 1943, the Government of Ireland established the

Genealogical Office The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...

, which took over the records of the Office of Arms, while the title of Ulster King of Arms was merged with that of Norroy to become Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, a member of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Sadleir continued to work for the Genealogical Office until 1944, clearing the large backlog of grants and confirmations of arms that had built up in Ulster's office. After leaving the G.O., he continued his private genealogical practice. He maintained links with his former employer, however, remaining a trustee of the Heraldic Museum in Dublin until his death. Sadleir subsequently became librarian at 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 ...

in Dublin, a post he held until his death.

Arms

References

Sources

*''Royal Roots, Republican Inheritance - The Survival of the Office of Arms'', Susan Hood, Dublin, 2002
Sadleir Papers, Genealogical Office
nli.ie. Accessed 19 December 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadleir, Thomas 1882 births 1957 deaths Irish genealogists Irish barristers Irish officers of arms Georgian architecture in Ireland

Career

Arms

See also

References

Sources