Recorder of Dublin

The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. The Recorder was the chief magistrate for Dublin, and heard a wide range of civil and criminal cases. From information given during a debate on the duties of the Recorder in the English House of Commons in 1831, it seems that he sat twice a week, with extra sessions as and when the workload required. His chief responsibility was to keep the peace, and he also controlled the number of pubs in the city. The duties were so onerous – by the 1830s the Recorder was hearing roughly 2,000 cases a year – that some Recorders sought promotion to the High Court bench in the belief that the workload there would be lighter. The Recorder also acted on occasion as a mediator in conflicts between the central government and Dublin Corporation.

Although he held a full-time judicial office, the Recorder, unlike the High Court judges, was not debarred from sitting in the Irish House of Commons, and despite their heavy workload, several Recorders served as MPs while sitting on the Bench. After the Act of Union 1800 the Recorder was eligible to sit in the English House of Commons, although an objection was made to this in 1832, on the grounds that a judge should not sit in Parliament. There was apparently no objection to his combining the office of Recorder with that of a Law Officer: Sir Richard Ryves, Recorder of Dublin 1680-1685, was a Serjeant for part of the same period.

The Recorder was not a Crown appointee: he was elected by the Corporation of Dublin, although he could be dismissed by the Crown. There is an interesting account of the election of Dudley Hussey in 1784, when he defeated three rival candidates for the office.[1]

The first man to hold the position was James Stanihurst, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, in 1564, and the last was Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy. The Recordership was abolished in 1924 and the Recorder's functions transferred to the new Circuit Court.[2]

List of holders of the office of Recorder of Dublin 1564-1924

Holders of the position have included:

1564 James Stanihurst (d. 1573)
1573 Henry Burnell[3]
1599 Patrick Fitzgerald[4]
1601 Sir Edward Loftus (killed at the Battle of Kinsale)
c. 1603 William Talbot, removed shortly afterwards as a Roman Catholic[5]
1604–1613 Richard Bolton[6]
1620s–1626 James Barry[7]
1626-1634 Nathaniel Catelyn
1634-1660 John Bysse
1661–1672 Sir William Davys,[8] later Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
1672 Elisha Leighton[9]
1680-1685 Sir Richard Ryves
1685-1687 Colonel Garrett Dillon
1687 Sir John Barnewall[10]
1690–1693 Thomas Coote[8][11]
1693-1695 Nehemiah Donnellan
1695–1701 Sir William Handcock[12]
1701–1714 John Forster[12]
1733–1750 Eaton Stannard
1751-1756 Thomas Morgan
1756–1766 James Grattan[13]
1766–1784 Samuel Bradstreet[9]
1784–1785 Dudley Hussey[14]
1785–1794 Denis George (later Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) [15]
1794–1820 William Walker[16] Elected 30 May 1794[17] (Died 31 December 1820)
1822-1828 Sir Jonas Greene
1828–1876 Sir Frederick Shaw[18]
1876-1905 Sir Frederick Falkiner (1831–1908)
1905-1924 Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy (1850–1933)—the last Recorder of Dublin

References

F. Elrington Ball (1926) The Judges in Ireland, 1221-1921
Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)
Hansard's Parliamentary Debates 1831
Jacqueline R. Hill (1997) From Patriots to Unionists: Dublin Civic Politics and Irish Protestant Patriotism, 1660-1840

Notes

Hibernian Magazine 1784
Courts of Justice Act 1924 s.51
Ball vol. I p. 223.
Ball vol. I p. 227.
"Talbot, William (d.1633)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
"Bolton, Richard" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
"Barry, James (1603-1672)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Hill p. 391.
His DNB article.
Ball vol. I p. 365.
Ball vol. II p. 61.
Hill p. 392.
Hill p. 321.
Sylvanus, Urban (1785). The Gentleman's Magazine. part II. London: John Nichols. p. 1007.
George Baronets
http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/NorthDub/cosgrave6.html
By Paymaster Captain Reginald P Walker published 1939.
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/big-houses-of-ireland/the-shaws-of-dublin/the-shaw-family-and-bushy/

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[1] Hibernian Magazine 1784

[2] Courts of Justice Act 1924 s.51

[3] Ball vol. I p. 223.

[4] Ball vol. I p. 227.

[5] "Talbot, William (d.1633)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

[6] "Bolton, Richard" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

[7] "Barry, James (1603-1672)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

[Hill_p._391-8] Hill p. 391.

[his-9] His DNB article.

[10] Ball vol. I p. 365.

[11] Ball vol. II p. 61.

[Hill_p._392-12] Hill p. 392.

[13] Hill p. 321.

[14] Sylvanus, Urban (1785). The Gentleman's Magazine. part II. London: John Nichols. p. 1007.

[15] George Baronets

[16] ttp://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/NorthDub/cosgrave6.html

[Walker_History_Notes_p._7-17] By Paymaster Captain Reginald P Walker published 1939.

[18] ttp://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/big-houses-of-ireland/the-shaws-of-dublin/the-shaw-family-and-bushy/