James Dennis, 1st Baron Tracton PC

Privy Council of Ireland

The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

 (1721–15 June 1782) was an Irish politician and judge.

Background

Dennis was the son of John Dennis, a timber merchant of Kinsale

Kinsale

Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...

, Co. Cork, and Anne Bullen, daughter of William Bullen (d.1735), of Southwater and Bullen's Cove; Burgess of Kinsale

Kinsale

Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...

.

Political and judicial career

Dennis became a barrister and was the legal advisor to Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon

Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon

Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon, PC was a prominent Irish politician.Boyle was the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Boyle , second son of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery. His mother was Lady Mary O'Brien, daughter of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin...

. He later sat as a member of the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

 for Rathcormack

Rathcormack (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Rathcormack was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1611 to 1800. It was a mix of Potwalloping and a Manor Borough established by Charter and remained tied to the borough and surrounding area. The franchise was vested in the £5 and until 1793, Protestant Freeholders and...

 between 1761 and 1768 and for Youghal

Youghal (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Youghal was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800. It was a corporation with burgesses and freemen under the patronage of the Earl of Shannon...

 between 1768 and 1777 and also served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland. He was sworn of the Irish Privy Council

Privy Council of Ireland

The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

 in 1777 and raised to the Peerage of Ireland

Peerage of Ireland

The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

 as Baron Tracton, of Tracton Abbey in the County of Cork, on 4 January 1781. He was a founding member of The Monks of the Screw

The Monks of the Screw

The Monks of the Screw was the name of an Irish drinking club active in the period 1779-1789. It was also called the Order of St. Patrick. The "screw" referred to the corkscrew required to open a bottle of wine.-Ethos and foundation:...

.

Personal life

In 1769, Dennis married Elizabeth Pigott, daughter of Edmund Pigott of Chetwynd House, Co. Cork, but he died childless in June 1782. The barony died with him, but he left his estates to his two nephews, who in accordance with his will changed their surname to 'Dennis' and paid an annual jointure of £1,800 to their uncle's widow.

His nephews were the two sons of Thomas Swift (1711-1803), of Lynn, Co. Westmeath, who had married his only sister, Frances. Thomas Swift was the son of Meade Swift (b.1692) J.P., of Lynn, a first cousin of the famous Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...

 and Sir Richard Meade (1697-1744) 3rd Bt., father of the 1st Earl of Clanwilliam

Earl of Clanwilliam

Earl of Clanwilliam is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for John Meade, 1st Viscount Clanwilliam. The Meade family descends from John Meade, who represented Dublin University and County Tipperary in the Irish House of Commons and served as Attorney-General for Ireland...

. Lord Tracton left his estates in Co. Kerry to his first nephew, the Rev. Meade Swift-Dennis (1753-1837), who married Delia, daughter of Morley Saunders, of Saunders Grove, Co. Wicklow, and Martha, daughter of John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough

John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough

John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough was an Irish peer and politician.-Background:Born at Ormond, he was the son of Edward Stratford and his first wife Elizabeth Baisley, daughter of Euseby Baisley. Stratford was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.-Career:In 1721, he entered the Irish House of...

. Baron Tracton left his estates of Tracton Abbey, Co. Cork and Temple Hill House, Co. Dublin to his second nephew, John Swift-Dennis (d.1830) M.P.

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, for Kinsale

Kinsale

Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...

, Co. Cork.