John Keating (c. 1630–1691) was an Irish judge who became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas; despite a reputation for integrity, impartiality and benevolence, he fell from power after the Revolution of 1688, and committed suicide.
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He was born in Dublin, second son of Edmund Keating and Elizabeth Eustace of Harristown, sister of Sir Maurice Eustace, later Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Like his uncle Keating, though conforming to the Church of Ireland, was notably tolerant in religious matters.[1]
He graduated from the University of Dublin in 1655 and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1657. It is said however that his legal training was deficient compared to that of his colleagues.[2]In 1661 he returned to Ireland and became Deputy Clerk to the Irish House of Commons. The office involved much travel between Dublin and London, and Keatiing displayed impressive energy, on one occasion completing the journey both ways in twelve days in the depth of winter.[3] He entered Kings Inn in 1663 and quickly gained a reputation as a barrister. His uncle recommended him to James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde the Lord Lieutenant, whose friendship was generally the path to judicial office. Keating however was content at first to be appointed attorney to the Duke of York; he admitted he could not afford to give up practice and was worried about the envy of older colleagues.
Given Keating's previous reluctance, his appointment as Chief Justice of Common Pleas, direct from the Bar, in 1679 is surprising. Even more surprising is the choice of a judge noted for Catholic leanings: the anti-Catholic feeling engendered by the Popish Plot was at its height, and it was rumoured that Keating himself might be named in that connection. Probably, as Elrington Ball suggests,[4] Charles II chose Keating precisely because his well-known tolerance meant that he was unlikely to succumb to the prevailing hysteria. In particular, he was expected to quash an unfounded charge of treason against the Earl of Tyrone and duly did so. In the following years he gained an impressive reputation for integrity, impartiality and mercy, and inevitably made political enemies on all sides. His reputation for mercy did not extend to cattle theft, a serious social problem at the time: in such cases he was prepared to drive hard for conviction, and in the well-known case of R. v Cavenagh[5] in 1689, broke with precedent in refusing to allow two convicted thieves to plead benefit of clergy for a first offence.
In the turbulent years 1688–1691, Keating was in a particularly difficult position since unlike some of his colleagues he was very anxious to keep his position. During James II's first year in Ireland, Keating showed himself a staunch loyalist, praying publicly for the king and referring to the revolution as an "invasion". James was seemingly impressed, and Keating was given a prominent place in the opening of the Dublin Parliament of 1689; yet within days his enemies had him dismissed from the Privy Council.[6]
The collapse of the Jacobite cause placed Keating in an impossible position. He could not seriously have expected to keep his job, yet he undoubtedly made friendly advances to the new administration. These met with a cold reception: Keating was dismissed from office, imprisoned for a time and apparently threatened with impeachment. He committed suicide early in 1691.[7]
In 1659 he married Grace Holt, daughter of the prominent Royalist Sir Thomas Holt of Aston and widow of Sir Richard Shuckburgh. Grace died in 1677; Keating erected a memorial to her in Palmerstown Chapel, Dublin, paying eloquent testimony to their happy marriage. There were no children.
Historians on the whole have dealt kindly with Keating's character. He has been accused of undignified clinging to office, and as the Cavenagh case shows he could be ruthless enough when necessary. Yet there is impressive evidence of his good qualities as a man and judge. Duhigg,[8] in a celebrated passage, called him: "the great ornament of the Irish Bench...a great magistrate who in a slippery or stormy period exercised official station with mild manners and untainted integrity. This great man was calm, patient and humane in the trial of prisoners; clear, laborious and consistent in the discussion of civil suits; faithful to his King and country in the indulgence of political principles; and attached to God in the exercise of Christianity."[9]