The Rt. Hon. Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore, PC (1766 – 21 April 1840), from Cahir Guillamore,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, served as

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for Ireland The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland), Irish Court of Exchequer. This was a mirror of the Exchequer of Pleas, equivalent court in England, and was one of the four courts wh ...

for a number of years. He was created Viscount Guillamore by a patent of 28 January 1831.

Biography

O'Grady was the eldest son of Darby O'Grady of Mount Prospect,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, and of Mary, daughter of James Smyth of the same county. He was born on 20 January 1766, and, entering

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, graduated B.A. in 1784. 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 ...

, and went on the

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

circuit. He was remarkable for wit as well as learning, and built up a considerable practice. He inherited the Cahir Guillamore estate on the death of his uncle John and was appointed High Sheriff of County Limerick for 1790. On 10 June 1803, after the murder of Lord Kilwarden, O'Grady became

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and was sworn of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. He was one of the prosecuting counsel at the trial of

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

. In October 1805 he was made Lord Chief Baron, in succession to Lord Avonmore. He was a sound judge, and David Richard Pigot, his successor as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, expressed the opinion: "O'Grady was the ablest man whose mind I ever saw at work". His witticisms on and off the bench were long remembered. O'Grady was one of the first to suspect the duplicity of the notorious informer

Leonard McNally Leonard McNally or MacNally (27 September 1752 – 13 February 1820) was an Irish barrister, playwright, lyricist, founding member of the United Irishmen and spy for the British Government within Irish republican circles. He was a successful la ...

. He clashed with his superiors in 1816 when they brought

quo warranto In the English-American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ issued by a court which orders someone to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they clai ...

proceedings to challenge his right to appoint his son Waller as a Court clerk. On his retirement from the bench in 1831, O'Grady was created Viscount Guillamore of Cahir Guillamore and Baron O'Grady of Rockbarton, co. Limerick, in the peerage of Ireland. The O'Grady seat was Cahir Guillamore, close to Lough Gur. He was a handsome man, of a fine presence, and over in stature. He died in Dublin on 20 April 1840.

Family

In 1790 O'Grady married Katharine (died 1853), second daughter of John Thomas Waller of Castletown, co. Limerick, with whom he had at least twelve children: *Sons ** Standish O'Grady, 2nd Viscount Guillamore (1792–1848) Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, married Gertrude-Jane, daughter of Berkeley Paget: they had nine children, including the 3rd, 4th and 5th Viscounts. ** Waller, barrister-at-law, married on 26 June 1823, Grace-Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Hugh, 3rd

Baron Massy Baron Massy, of Duntryleague in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 4 August 1776 for Hugh Massy, who had previously represented County Limerick in the Irish House of Commons. His son, the second Baro ...

. He became a

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not us ...

and Commissioner of the Irish Insolvency Court. ** John, joined the Royal Navy. ** Thomas, an officer in the British Army. **

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

(1801-1859), a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman who became Archdeacon of Kilmacduagh. * *Richard 1808-1875), Chief Examiner to the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...

. *Daughters ** Maria, married on 13 December 1814,

John Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort John Prendergast Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort (1 July 1790 – 20 October 1865), was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Background and education Gort was the son of Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort, and his first wife Jane, daughter of Ralp ...

. ** Katherine (d.1829), married Dudley Persse of Roxburgh, in County Galway, a cousin of the celebrated author

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrot ...

. ** Isabella, who never married.

Notes

References

* * * * * Attribution: * Notes ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Guillamore, Standish Ogrady, 1st Viscount 1766 births 1840 deaths Irish Anglicans Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by William IV High sheriffs of County Limerick O'Grady family Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer Lawyers from County Limerick