Bartholomew Dillon

Sir Bartholomew Dillon (died 1533) was a leading Irish judge of the sixteenth century who held the offices of Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland.

He was born at Riverstown, County Meath, eldest son of Sir James Dillon, Baron of the Exchequer, and Elizabeth Bathe. He married twice and had one son, Thomas, and a daughter, Ismay, who married James Fleming and was mother of Thomas Fleming, 10th Baron Slane. His younger brother founded the branch of the family which held the title Earl of Roscommon.

He was an official in the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) by 1505 and became a Baron of the Exchequer in 1507. He was appointed Chief Baron in 1514 but removed after a year. He was Deputy Treasurer of Ireland from 1516 to 1522, when he became a judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland). In 1533 he was made Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland but died almost at once.^[1]

According to Elrington Ball, at a time when Irish politics was deeply split between supporters and opponents of the Earl of Kildare, Dillon was one of the most convinced supporters of Kildare, spending much time in England to defend his interests.^[2]

References