Richard Bellings, Bealing or Bellyngs (died 1584) was an Irish

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and landowner who was

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On r ...

from 1574 to 1584. His grandson and namesake

Richard Bellings Sir Richard Bellings (1613–1677) was a lawyer and political figure in 17th century Ireland and in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He is best known for his participation in Confederate Ireland, a short-lived independent Irish state, in which he ...

was a leading figure in

Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic Church, Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1652, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristoc ...

, which governed much of Ireland in the 1640s. He was probably born in

Mulhuddart Mulhuddart () is an outer suburb situated 12 km (7.456 miles) north-west of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The River Tolka passes near the village. Mulhuddart is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Irelan ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, a district with which his family had a long association.Ball, F. Elrington ''History of the Parishes of Dublin'' Vol. 6 University Press 1920 p.40 They were prominent members of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

gentry of

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. 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 ...

, quickly became one of its leaders, and was appointed Solicitor General in 1574. He seems to have been diligent in performing his duties, pleading regularly before the

Court of Castle Chamber The Court of Castle Chamber (which was sometimes simply called ''Star Chamber'') was an Irish court of special jurisdiction which operated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was established by Elizabeth I of England in 1571 to deal w ...

(the Irish equivalent to

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

) and sitting on several commissions of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

. Presumably as a reward for his services, the Crown made substantial grants of land to him in County Dublin, including

Tyrrelstown Tyrrelstown () is a townland in Fingal, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Mulhuddart. It is located 13 km northwest of the city of Dublin, and is often considered as part of the g ...

, which became the principal family seat. They also owned extensive property in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. Despite his record of good service to the Crown and his legal ability, he never became a judge; this may reflect the personal disfavour of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, who thought poorly of most of her Irish law officers, especially those like Bellings who were Irish by birth. Her remedy for the perceived "default and inefficiency of her officers of the law" was to replace Irish officeholders with Englishmen whenever a vacancy arose. Elrington Ball, normally the most reliable source of information on the pre-1921 Irish judiciary, and who is also very knowledgeable about the history of Dublin generally, states that Bellings was still alive in 1600, but the

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

appointing his successor as Solicitor General,

Jesse Smythes Jesse (or Jessua) Smythes (died 1594) was an English born judge and colonist in Elizabethan Ireland. He held office as Solicitor General for Ireland and Chief Justice of Munster, and was heavily involved in the Plantation of Munster. He was noted ...

, in January 1585, state clearly that he had recently died. Given the Queen's attitude to her Irish law officers it is not surprising that Smythes was English. Little seems to be known of his marriage. Richard's son Sir Henry Bellings became

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French (Modern French ). While a provost marshal is now usually a senior c ...

and

High Sheriff of Kildare The High Sheriff of Kildare was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kildare, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kildare County Sheriff. Th ...

; despite a reputation for

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

, (including the notorious case of the aged English-born farmer Philip Bushen, who was hanged in 1625 for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of his wife, a crime which he almost certainly did not commit),Wedgwood, C. V. ''Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford 1593-1641- a revaluation'' Phoenix Press reissue 2000 pp.142-3 and several clashes with the Crown, he had a largely successful career and extended the family estates. Henry by his wife Maud was the father of the second Richard Bellings, the Confederate leader, and grandfather of the third

, secretary to Queen

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellings, Richard Solicitors-general for Ireland 1584 deaths People from Fingal Year of birth unknown Lawyers from County Dublin 16th-century Irish lawyers 16th-century Irish landowners