Marcus Paterson was an Irish politician, Solicitor-General for Ireland

Solicitor-General for Ireland

The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. At least one holder of the office, Patrick Barnewall played a significant role in...

 and Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas

The Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the senior judge of the Court of Common Pleas ,known in its early stage as the Common Bench or simply Bench, one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of Common Pleas in England...

. He became the Member of Parliament

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 Ballynakill

Ballynakill (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Ballynakill was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Ballynakill was not represented.-1689–1801:...

 in 1756 and Lisburn

Lisburn (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Lisburn was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...

 in 1768. He was appointed as Solicitor-General in 1764 and became Chief Justice of Common Pleas in 1770. He held office until his death although he had been contemplating retirement due to ill health.

He was a native of Ennis

Ennis

Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....

, County Clare; and was the third son of Montrose Paterson. He went to school in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

and graduated from the University of Dublin.

In character he seems to have been an eighteenth-century "rake": he was famed for his hospitality, shortened his life by heavy drinking and fought numerous duels. On the other hand he was a considerable scholar, a fine lawyer and a diligent and zealous law officer.