Charles Kendal Bushe
Charles Kendal Bushe (1767 – 10 July 1843), was an Irish lawyer and judge. Known as "silver-tongued Bushe", he was Solicitor-General for Ireland from 1805 to 1822 and Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland from 1822 to 1841.
Background and education
Bushe was born at Kilmurry, County Kilkenny, the only son of the Reverend Thomas Bushe and his wife Katherine Doyle. He graduated from the University of Dublin and was called to the Bar in 1790.
Legal and judicial career
Bushe was a member of the Irish Parliament for Callan from 1796 to 1799 and Donegal Borough from 1799 to 1800. He was vehemently opposed to the Act of Union 1800, referring emotionally to Britain's subjection of Ireland to " six hundred years of uniform oppression and injustice ."[1] Cynics noted that this did not prevent him accepting high office after the Union. He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1805 and held the office for 17 years until in 1822 he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland (although only after William Saurin, the equally long-serving Attorney-General for Ireland had refused the position). He retired in 1841.
As an advocate "silver-tongued Bushe" was legendary for his eloquence, and as a politician was admired by English contemporaries like Sir Robert Peel and Lord Brougham; as a judge according to Elrington Ball he did not live up to expectations.[2] As a politician he was often accused of double-dealing: opposing the Act of Union but accepting office afterwards and supporting Catholic Emancipation while prosecuting members of the Catholic Association for sedition, for, essentially, advocating the same cause. In Dublin, he was a member of Daly's Club.[3]
Family
Bushe married Anne Crampton and they had five children; his daughter Charlotte married John Plunket, 3rd Baron Plunket and was mother of William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and David Plunket, 1st Baron Rathmore. Dunbar Plunket Barton, a leading judge of the early 1900s, was descended from Bushe.
References
- ↑ Geoghegan, Patrick M. Liberator-the life and death of Daniel O'Connell Gill and Macmillan Dublin 2010 p.176
- ↑ Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 John Murray, London, 1926
- ↑ T. H. S. Escott, Club Makers and Club Members (1913), pp. 329–333
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Meeke Hon. Francis Mathew |
Member of Parliament for Callan 1796–1799 With: William Meeke 1796–1797 Patrick Welch 1797–1799 |
Succeeded by Patrick Welch James Savage |
| Preceded by Hugh O'Donnell William Cusack-Smith |
Member of Parliament for Donegal Borough 1799–1801 With: William Cusack-Smith |
Constituency abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Plunket |
Solicitor-General for Ireland 1805–1822 |
Succeeded by Henry Joy |
| Preceded by William Downes |
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland 1822–1841 |
Succeeded by Edward Pennefather |
|