Patrick Segrave

Patrick Segrave (died after 1610) was an Irish judge who was removed from office for corruption.

He was born at Killeglan, now Ashbourne, County Meath, son of Richard Segrave, Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) and head of a prominent landowning family.[1] He married before 1589 Mary Dillon, daughter of Chief Justice Robert Dillon, who in the latter year sent him to London with gifts of hawks and horses for the Privy Council.[2] On his father's death in 1598 Patrick took his place as a Baron of the Exchequer.

He was removed from office in 1602 for bribery and corruption, following a trial before the Court of Castle Chamber, the Irish equivalent of Star Chamber.[3] The Delahide family's lands at Dunshaughlin, County Meath had been forfeited by the Delahides to the Crown for treason. Segrave, in return for a large bribe, conspired with Richard Read and David Russell to procure a jury to find the title in favour of Read; he was also charged with attempting to bribe Sir Richard Cooke, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland.[4] Segrave was found guilty, removed from office, fined £1000 and imprisoned at the pleasure of the Crown.[5]

His disgrace was not permanent; in 1607 he was admitted to the King's Inns and became a member of the governing council. He attended meetings of the council until 1610, after which his name disappears from the records.[6] The Patrick Segrave of Killeglan whose estates were forfeited for his part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 was probably his son or grandson.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Ball, Francis Elrington (1926). The Judges in Ireland 1221 - 1921 1. John Murray London. p. 226. ISBN 9781858000268.
  2. ↑ Ball p.226
  3. ↑ Crawford, Jon G. (2005). A Star Chamber Court in Ireland- the Court of Castle Chamber 1571-1641. Dublin: Four Courts Press. p. 286. ISBN 9781851829347.
  4. ↑ Crawford p.286
  5. ↑ Crawford p.286
  6. ↑ Kenny, Colum (1992). The King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. pp. 200–1. ISBN 9780716524724.
  7. ↑ D'Alton, John (1855). King James' Irish Army List. Dublin. p. 730. ISBN 9780940134232.