William Caulfield (1665 – 24 August 1737) was an Irish barrister, Law Officer and judge: one of his sons became

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 ...

. He 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

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It is 19 km north of Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk is Cruachan, an Iron Age (Gaelic) royal palace. As recou ...

, and was later raised to the bench as justice of the

Court of King'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 Be ...

, and served on that Court 1715–1734.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.2 p.194 He was son of Thomas Caulfield of

Donamon Castle Donamon, or more correctly, Dunamon Castle ( ga, Dún Iomáin) is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland and stands on raised ground overlooking the River Suck in County Roscommon. There was a fort here from early times (hence the name ...

(died 1691) and Anne Moore, and grandson of William Caulfield, 2nd Baron Caulfeild, and of Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda. As a wealthy landowner, he did not have to earn a living, and he was not called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

until he was forty, having previously entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. He became Second Serjeant in 1708, resigning in 1711, and was appointed Prime Serjeant in 1714. As a Law Officer he was noted for his zeal in dealing with agrarian disturbances. Ball states that he owed his career advancement entirely to his Whig sympathies, but he seems to have been a conscientious enough judge. As Ball also notes he and his King's Bench colleagues dealt with all

indictable In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

crimes in Dublin city and county. The workload was heavy, and the late 1720s and early 1730s were noted for a number of much-publicised trials, such as that of the surgeon John Audoen, convicted and executed for the murder of his maid Margaret Keeffe in 1728. Another notable trial was that of Daniel Kimberley, an attorney who was charged with forcing a wealthy twelve-year-old girl, Bridget Reading, into marriage with one of his clients in 1730. In 1719 while on assize Caulfield narrowly escaped death when the roof of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

Courthouse collapsed, with the loss of many lives.Ball p.98 The heavy workload affected Caulfield's health; he was unable to go on

assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

from 1730 onwards. He visited

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and Bath in hopes of a cure. He retired on health grounds in 1734. He married Lettice, daughter of

Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet (c. 1640 – 20 December 1697) was an Irish soldier and politician. Gore was the second son of Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and his wife Isabella Wycliffe, daughter of Francis Wycliffe. In 1656, he was High Sheriff ...

by his wife Eleanor, daughter of Sir George St George (knight of Carrickdrumrusk), and was father of (among others)

Thomas Caulfeild Thomas Caulfeild (often also spelled Caulfield, baptized 26 March 1685 – 2 March 1716/7) was an early British Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. Due to the frequent absence of governors Samuel Vetch and Francis Nicholson, Caulfeild often a ...

, Toby Caulfeild, and

St George Caulfeild St George Caulfeild (16 September 1697 – 17 May 1778) was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was a popular and respected judge, who was known in old age as "the good old man".Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1721'' John Murray Lond ...

, all of whom were also MPs for Tulsk: St. George became Lord Chief Justice, and one of the most beloved Irish judges of his time. William's residence was

, County Roscommon, which he inherited from his father in 1691.

References

* http://thepeerage.com/p1968.htm#i19677 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfeild, William 1665 births 1737 deaths 18th-century Irish lawyers

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Middle Temple Lawyers from County Roscommon Justices of the Irish King's Bench Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 19th-century Irish judges 18th-century Irish landowners 19th-century Irish landowners