William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket
Encyclopedia
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...
(1 July 1764 – 5 January 1854) was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
politician and lawyer who eventually became Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
.
The son of a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
minister, Rev. Thomas Plunket of Dublin, and his wife Mary (née Conyngham). He was born in Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
, and educated at Trinity College Dublin. After graduating in 1784, he was admitted as a student at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, and was called to the Irish bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
three years later. He was made a King's Counsel in 1795, and three years later was elected to 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...
as a Member of Parliament for Charlemont
Charlemont (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Charlemont was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Charlemont was not represented.-1689–1801:...
.
After the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
was passed, Plunket lost his seat, and failed to be elected to Westminster for the University of Dublin in 1802, but he subsequently became 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...
in 1803, a post he held for two years before becoming Attorney-General for Ireland
Attorney-General for Ireland
The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was senior to the Solicitor-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters...
, again for two years. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council of Ireland
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...
on 6 December 1805.
In Dublin, he was a member of Daly's Club
Daly's Club
Daly's Club, with premises known as Daly's Club House, was a gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, a centre of social and political life between its origins in about 1750 and its end in 1823.-History:...
.
In January 1807, he was returned to British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as a Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
member for Midhurst
Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)
Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...
, representing the constituency for only three months, although he subsequently returned to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 1812 as a member for Dublin University. Between 1822 and 1827, he was again Attorney-General for Ireland
Attorney-General for Ireland
The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was senior to the Solicitor-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters...
, and in the latter year he became the island's Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Common Pleas.
In 1827, Plunket was ennobled in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
as Baron Plunket, of Newton in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was an advocate of Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, and served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...
from 1830 to 1841, with a brief interval when the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
were in power between 1834 and 1835. He was forced into retirement to allow Sir John Campbell to assume office, and died at the age of 89 at his home in County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
The title was inherited by his eldest son, Thomas
Thomas Plunket, 2nd Baron Plunket
The Right Reverend Thomas Span Plunket, 2nd Baron Plunket , was Bishop of Tuam, Killaly and Achonry.Plunket was the first son of William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket and his wife, Catherine . He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. On the death of his father in 1854, he became the 2nd Baron...
.
Family
Plunket was married to Catherine MacCausland, daughter of John MacCausland (Irish parliamentarian) of StrabaneStrabane
Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....
and Elizabeth Span, daughter of Rev. William Span of Ballmacove, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Their son Thomas became Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry
Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry
The Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in the Province of Armagh. The present incumbent is the Right Reverend Patrick Rooke....
and 2nd Baron. Thomas's eldest daughter Katherine
Katherine Plunket
Katherine Plunket was an Irish aristocrat from County Louth, a prolific botanical artist and the oldest person in Irish history...
(1820–1932) was the longest-lived Irish person ever. Their other children included sons Patrick (d 1859) and Robert (Dean of Tuam from 1850), and a daughter, Louisa.