The Hon. Edward Mayne (August 1756 – 7 May 1829) was Judge of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

of Ireland (1805–1816) and afterwards Judge of The Court of the King's Bench (1816–1818).

Birth

Edward Mayne was baptised on 30 August 1756. He was the eldest son of Charles Mayne (1727–1777) o
Freame Mount

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

and his wife (and cousin) Dorothea Mayne, daughter of Edward Mayne o
Brandrum House
Co. Fermanagh. His father, son of Robert Mayne (1679–1753) of Mount Sedborough,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

(which was granted to his ancestor, John Sedborough (d.1629), in 1614), built Freame Mount in 1772. The house looked over the Dartrey estate, owned by Edward's father's cousin and benefactor,

Thomas Dawson, 1st Viscount Cremorne Thomas Dawson, 1st Viscount Cremorne was an Irish landowner and politician from County Monaghan. Biography He was born on 25 February 1725, the first surviving son of Richard Dawson of Dawson Grove, by his wife Elizabeth Vesey, daughter of John V ...

(1725–1813). It was named for Lord Cremorne's new wife, Philadelphia Hannah Freame, granddaughter of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...

Legal career

Mayne entered

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 ...

in 1772. He was elected a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

in 1775 and graduated B.A. (1777). His father died in the same year that he graduated, and as the eldest son, he inherited Freame Mount. Rather than abandon his plans for a career in law, Mayne passed the responsibility of running the estate to his younger brother, William, providing him with legal advice when needed. William Mayne went on to serve as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and High Sheriff of

Co. Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. I ...

. In 1779, Edward Mayne went to

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 ...

, entering

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 an ...

, and was 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 ...

in 1781. After a lengthy and successful career as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

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 ...

, in 1805 he was appointed a Judge of

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 ...

. In 1816, he was appointed Judge 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 Benc ...

Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit ...

but he resigned two years later due to ill health. He was, according to

John Edward Walsh John Edward Walsh (12 November 1816 – 20 October 1869) was an Irish lawyer and Conservative politician. He served as Attorney-General for Ireland in 1866 and as Master of the Rolls in Ireland from 1866 to 1869. Background and education Wa ...

, "a serious, solemn man and a rigid moralist", and was strongly opposed to

duelling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and la ...

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, who had a low opinion of most of the Irish judges he appeared before, had particular contempt for Mayne, remarking that he found it impossible not to laugh at a judge who was so easily persuaded to rule in his favour.Geoghegan, Patrick M. ''King Dan- the rise of Daniel O'Connell 1775-1829'' Gill and Macmillan 2010 p.168 One description of him referred to him as being of the "sapient, soft and melancholy strain", but records show he had a reputation for severity. A list of the sentences he passed in 1815 (kept at the Old Court House,

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the bu ...

Museum) includes a number of death sentences—one for stealing a horse. An anecdote survives of someone inquiring about his Christian name, which was met with the reply, "I cannot tell what it is, but I know what it is not, it is not Hugh".

Family

In 1780, he married Sarah Fiddes (1765–1853), daughter of John Fiddes, Attorney of

, by his wife Catherine Walsh of Lislea,

. They were the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom reached adulthood. The best known of their children was Sir

Richard Mayne Sir Richard Mayne KCB (27 November 1796 – 26 December 1868) was a barrister and the joint first Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the head of the London Metropolitan Police (1829–1868). With an incumbency of 39 years, he was a ...

, the first joint

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February. The rank of Commissione ...

. Edward and Sarah Mayne were the grandparents of

Richard Charles Mayne Rear-Admiral Richard Charles Mayne (7 July 1835 – 29 May 1892) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer, who in later life became a Conservative politician. Richard Mayne was the son of Sir Richard Mayne KCB (the first joint commissioner of the ...

and John Dawson Mayne.

References

External links

Freame Mount, Co. Cavan

The home of Edward Mayne in Dublin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayne, Edward 1756 births 1829 deaths Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Justices of the Irish King's Bench