Sir James Shaen, 1st Baronet (a.1629 – 13 December 1695) was an

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 ...

politician. He was an influential official in the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin Castle was the centre of the government of Ireland under English and later British rule. "Dublin Castle" is used metonymically to describe British rule in Ireland. The Castle held only the executive branch of government and the Privy Cou ...

of Ireland during the 1670s.

Early life and appointments

Shaen was the eldest son and heir of Patrick Shaen. In 1650 he married Frances FitzGerald, the youngest daughter of

George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (23 January 1612 – 29 May 1660) was known as the "Fairy Earl", apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, which is extant, was painted on a small scale." Biography FitzGerald was the son of T ...

. Following the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

, in 1654 Shaen was appointed a member of the commission for setting out lands in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

and

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

for Irish opponents of Cromwell who were forcibly transported from their homes. He was appointed High Sheriff of Longford and

High Sheriff of Westmeath The High Sheriff of Westmeath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Westmeath, Ireland from its creation under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and re ...

. In 1656 he was the commander of a troop of horse in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Official in Dublin

Despite Shaen's association with the Cromwellian regime in Ireland, in October 1660, after the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, he was appointed cessor, collector, and receiver general of

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

for life. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in December 1660. In March 1661 he became registrar of the first court of claims and in September 1661 he was secretary to the

Lords Justices of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch ...

. Between 1661 and 1666 he was the Member of Parliament for

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

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 the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

. In late 1662, he was sent by the

Duke of Ormond The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

to London to request £60,000 from the English government of Charles II; the mission failed, but Shaen instead proposed to raise a loan on behalf of the king. On 7 February 1663 he was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Kilmore in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. In May of that year he became one of the original

Fellows of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. In 1667 he was appointed

Surveyor General of Ireland The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed officer under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries.McParland 1995 The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying, design and constru ...

for life. In the 1670s, Shaen was involved in a series of proposed Irish revenue schemes under the direction of

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) of Berkeley House in Westminster and of Twickenham Park in Middlesex, was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley f ...

. Between 1677 and 1679 he was engaged in an intense struggle for control of the Irish revenue with the

Earl of Ranelagh Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

and the Earl of Danby. Shaen's approach to taxation was criticised by Ranelagh and he was suspected of corruption by Ormond; the collapse of one his schemes in 1682, amid disarray and disputed accounts, effectively marked the end of the system of taxation which he had developed. After this, he largely disappeared from public life, playing no part in the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

, although he represented

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road (Ireland), N81 road ...

in the Irish Commons from 1692 to 1695.E. M. Johnston-Liik
''MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800''
(Ulster Historical Foundation, 2006), p.122. Retrieved 25 January 2023.

Death and succession

Shaen died on 13 December 1695, and was succeeded in his extensive estates and baronetcy by his only child,

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, who sat in the Irish Commons for Lismore in every parliament from 1692 until his death. Upon Arthur's death, the title became extinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaen, James, 1st Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1695 deaths 17th-century Anglo-Irish people 1 High sheriffs of Longford High sheriffs of County Westmeath Irish MPs 1661–1666 Irish MPs 1692–1693 Irish MPs 1695–1699 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tipperary constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies Original fellows of the Royal Society Surveyors General of Ireland