Life

He was son of Robert Talbot of Carton

Carton

Carton is the name of certain types of containers typically made from paperboard which is also sometimes known as cardboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.-Folding cartons:...

, co. Kildare, and grandson of Sir Thomas Talbot of Malahide

Malahide

Malahide is a coastal suburban town, near Dublin city, located in the administrative county of Fingal, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. It has a village-like centre and extensive residential areas to the south, west and northwest.-Name:...

, co. Dublin. He was educated for the law, and attained a leading position as a lawyer in Dublin. About 1603 he was appointed Recorder of Dublin

Recorder of Dublin

The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial position in Dublin, Ireland. The first to hold the position was James Stanihurst, speaker of the Irish parliament, in 1564 and the last was Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy. The Recordership was abolished in 1924....

, but, being a staunch Roman Catholic, he was soon afterwards removed for recusancy

Recusancy

In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...

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On 13 April 1613 he was returned to the Irish parliament for County Kildare

Kildare County (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Kildare County was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1801.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Kildare County was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...

, and became a legal guide to the Catholic party in 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...

. Thomas Ryves

Thomas Ryves

Sir Thomas Ryves , member of a distinguished Dorsetshire family, became one of the foremost English experts on ecclesiastical and Admiralty law.- Background and early career :...

 complained to the Westminster government that Talbot had abetted the return to parliament of two schismatics. During the stormy scenes which marked the election of a speaker in the Irish House of Commons Talbot urged that the house should first purge itself of members elected by illegal means. On 30 May he was appointed by the house one of the deputies to represent to James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

 the corrupt practices employed in the elections to secure a Protestant majority, and the arbitrary treatment of the Anglo-Irish Catholics. He crossed to England in July, and was examined by the privy council on his conduct in the Irish House of Commons. During the discussion of this question Archbishop George Abbot demanded Talbot's opinion on a book (probably the Defensio fidei Catholicae adversus Anglicanae sectae errores) in which (he said) Francisco Suárez

Francisco Suárez

Francisco Suárez was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas Aquinas....

 openly maintained the right of Catholics to kill an heretical king. Talbot hesitated, but acknowledged James as lawful king. The council was not satisfied, and on 17 July Talbot was committed to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

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On 13 November 1613 the Star-chamber sentenced him to a fine of £10,000. Early in the following year, however, Talbot was allowed to return to Ireland, and probably the fine was remitted. James I, on releasing him, disclaimed any intention of forcing the Irish Catholics to change their religion. From this time Talbot became a supporter of the government, but took little part in politics. On 4 February 1622 he was created a baronet, and he subsequently received various grants of land. He died on 16 March 1633.

Family

By his wife Alison, daughter of John Netterville of Castleton, co. Meath, Talbot had issue eight sons and eight daughters. The eldest son, Robert, succeeded as second baronet, and from his daughter Frances, who married Richard Talbot of Malahide, descended the barons Talbot of Malahide. The second son was Peter Talbot, and the eighth was Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.