William Caulfield (1665 – 24 August 1737) 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 ...

, Law Officer and judge: one of his sons became

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) 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 Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

. He sat 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, ...

for

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 road (Ireland), N5 roads in Ireland, national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It sits at around 19 km north of Roscommon, Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk ...

, and was later raised to the bench as justice 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 Ben ...

, and served on that Court 1715–1734.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.2 p.194 He was son of Thomas Caulfield of

Donamon Castle Donamon Castle, or more correctly, Dunamon Castle (), is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland and stands on raised ground overlooking the River Suck in County Roscommon. History There was a fort here from early times (hence the name ...

(died 1691) and Anne Moore, and grandson of William Caulfield, 2nd

Baron Caulfeild Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

, and of Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda. As a wealthy landowner, he did not have to earn a living, and he was not 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 ...

until he was forty, having previously entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He became Second Serjeant in 1708, resigning in 1711, and was appointed Prime Serjeant in 1714. As a Law Officer he was noted for his zeal in dealing with agrarian disturbances. Ball states that he owed his career advancement entirely to his Whig sympathies, but he seems to have been a conscientious enough judge. As Ball also notes he and his King's Bench colleagues dealt with all

indictable In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

crimes in Dublin city and county. The workload was heavy, and the late 1720s and early 1730s were noted for a number of much-publicised trials, such as that of the

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

John Audoen, convicted and executed 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 maid Margaret Keeffe in 1728. Another notable trial was that of Daniel Kimberley, an attorney who was charged with forcing a wealthy twelve-year-old girl, Bridget Reading, into marriage with one of his clients in 1730. In 1719 while on assize Caulfield narrowly escaped death when the roof of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

Courthouse collapsed, with the loss of many lives.Ball p.98 The heavy workload affected Caulfield's health; he was unable to go on

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

from 1730 onwards. He visited

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in hopes of a cure. He retired on health grounds in 1734. He married Lettice, daughter of

Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet ( – 20 December 1697) was an Irish people, Irish soldier and politician. Early life Gore was the second son of Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and his wife Isabella Wycliffe, daughter of Francis Wycliffe. Career ...

by his wife Eleanor, daughter of Sir George St George (knight of Carrickdrumrusk), and was father of (among others)

Thomas Caulfeild Thomas Caulfeild (often also spelled Caulfield, baptized 26 March 1685 – 2 March 1716/7) was an early British Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. Due to the frequent absence of governors Samuel Vetch and Francis Nicholson, Caulfeild often a ...

, Toby Caulfeild, and St George Caulfeild, all of whom were also MPs for Tulsk: St. George became Lord Chief Justice, and one of the most beloved Irish judges of his time. William's residence was

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, which he inherited from his father in 1691.

References

* http://thepeerage.com/p1968.htm#i19677 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfeild, William 1665 births 1737 deaths 18th-century Irish lawyers

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 ...

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Middle Temple Lawyers from County Roscommon Justices of the Irish King's Bench Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 19th-century Irish judges 18th-century Irish landowners 19th-century Irish landowners