Sir William Cusack-Smith, 2nd Baronet FRS (23 January 1766 – 21 August 1836) was an Irish baronet, politician, and judge.

Background and education

Cusack-Smith was the only surviving son of Sir Michael Smith, 1st Baronet,

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respon ...

from 1801 to 1806, and his first wife Maryanne Cusack, daughter of James Cusack of Ballyronan,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Legal and judicial career

Cusack-Smith was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () 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 Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1788, having studied at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, became

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1795, and was made

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Kingdom of Ireland, 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 ...

in 1800. He was appointed a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

in 1801 at the remarkably early age of 35. The appointment caused some adverse comments, both because of his youth and because he was already displaying signs of eccentricity.Ball, F. Elrington " The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 " John Murray, London, 1926 In April 1805 he was elected a

Fellow 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 ...

. He was an eccentric judge who offended

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 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 mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

. O'Connell raised a motion, carried by MPs on 13 February 1834, to appoint a select committee ''to enquire into the conduct of Lord Smith in respect of his neglect of duty as a judge, and the introduction of political topics in his charges to grand juries''. On the count of neglect, Cusack-Smith had been accused of rarely beginning his court sessions until after noon, occasionally running them until late into the night.The accusation of introducing political topics stemmed from statements made from the bench to

grand juries A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

condemning partisan agitation practices, which were themselves perceived as inflammatory due to their one-sided nature, although in fairness he was far from being the only judge to behave in this manner.On 21 February there was an important debate on the matter, and the resolution to appoint the committee was rescinded by a majority of six. Cusack-Smith, though a devout member of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

, was a lifelong supporter of Catholic Emancipation (his mother was a Roman Catholic), but moved from early rejection of the Act of Union to supporting it. Despite this reversal, his conscientious conduct as a judge was well thought of to the extent that he was even congratulated by voices among the Repealers movement on his escape from parliamentary inquiry. Cusack-Smith represented Lanesborough 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, ...

from 1794 to 1798. Subsequently, he sat for Donegal Borough until the Act of Union in 1801. He was ill for some months before his death, but had appeared to recover. His death, at the family seat in Newtown, was sudden, and was generally believed to be

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Family

William Cusack-Smith added his mother's surname to his own upon her death. He married Hester Fleetwood Berry (29 Jan 1762 – 4 Jun 1832), daughter of Thomas Berry of Eglish Castle,

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

and his wife and cousin Frances. They had four children: * Sir Michael Cusack-Smith, 3rd Baronet (1793–1859) * Thomas Cusack-Smith, who followed in his grandfather's footsteps to become Master of the Rolls in Ireland. * Two daughters, Frances Mary Anne and Mary Anne Angelina, neither of whom married. Frances (Fanny) lived to be 94. Many of Hester's letters to members of her family, particularly her favourite brother Robert, survive.

Publications

*''The Patriot, or Political Essays'', 1793. *''The Anonymous, Volume I'', 1810. *''The Anonymous, Volume II'', 1810. *''The Maze, a poem'', 1815. *''Tracts upon the Union'', 1831. *''Metaphysic Rambles'', 1835. *''Ramble On; or dialogue the second between Warner Search, and Peter Peeradeal'', 1835. *''Another stroll, being the third, of W.C.S. and his alter idem friend P.P.'', 1836 *''The Goblins of Neapolis'', 1836.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack-Smith, Sir William, 2nd Baronet 1766 births 1836 deaths People educated at Eton College Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 People from Rathfarnham Solicitors-general for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Longford constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies