Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet

Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet (1642-1707) was an Irish barrister, judge and politician: he was the first of the Meade Baronets of Balintubber, and ancestor of the Earl of Clanwilliam. He was unusual in his generation for his lack of ambition to become a judge of the High Court, despite being generally regarded as a lawyer of "excellent parts". In matters of religion he seems to have been, by the standards of his time, a man of unusually tolerant views; himself a Protestant, he damaged his career by marrying a Roman Catholic wife.

Early life

He was born in Cork City, son of Colonel William Meade and Elizabeth Travers; he was a grandson of Sir John Meade, senior, of Balintubber, and through his paternal grandmother, Catherine Sarsfield, a great-grandson of the notoriously corrupt judge Dominick Sarsfield, 1st Viscount Sarsfield. His mother Elizabeth Travers was the daughter of Sir Robert Travers (died 1647), Judge Advocate and member of the Irish House of Commons for Clonakilty, who was killed at the Battle of Knocknanuss, and his wife Elizabeth Boyle, daughter of Richard Boyle, Archbishop of Tuam.

Career

He became Attorney General to the Duke of York (the future King James II of England), and judge of the palatine court of Tipperary : the latter office was largely a sinecure. Although he was said to be a fine lawyer, he seems to have had little interest in becoming a High Court judge, perhaps because his real interest was in politics. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, first for Trinity College Dublin in the Patriot Parliament of 1689, and then for Tipperary for the rest of his life.

Despite his willingness to sit in the Jacobite Patriot Parliament, he was regarded in his later years as a staunch supporter of William III of England. After the triumph of William's cause in 1690, he became King's Counsel, [1] and was spoken of as a likely candidate for the office of Third Irish Serjeant in 1692. [2] However, Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland objected to Meade's appointment, referring cryptically to "some exceptions (i.e. objections) against him".[3] This was almost certainly a reference to Meade's third wife, Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Viscount Ikerrin, who was a Roman Catholic; such a marriage, after the downfall of the Catholic King James II, was a serious obstacle to high office.

Meade was within a surprisingly short time offered the office of Serjeant, after Lord Sydney, and the whole of the Dublin Government, became deeply dissatisfied with the behaviour of the Prime Serjeant, John Osborne, who frequently acted without instructions from the Government, and even on occasions contrary to official policy.[4] Meade refused the office on the ground that it would interfere with his flourishing private practice[5] (although Hart notes that other contemporary serjeants like Sir Richard Stephens evidently became rich by virtue of the office).[6]

Sydney now made clear that his objection to Meade had been no reflection on his character or reputation. In contrast to the "treacherous and ungrateful" Osborne, Sydney remarked, Meade "has done very well, and is a man of most excellent parts: all the exception that can be made against him is that his wife is a Papist."[7]

He was knighted in 1678 and made a baronet in 1703. He died in January 1707.

Family

Sir John married firstly Mary Coppinger, daughter of James Coppinger; they had no children.

He married secondly Eleanor Redman, an heiress, daughter of Colonel Daniel Redman of Ballylinch, County Kilkenny. They had one surviving daughter-

He married thirdly Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Pierce Butler, 2nd Viscount Ikerrin. They had at least eight children-

Sources

Notes

  1. ↑ Hart p.71
  2. ↑ Hart p.71
  3. ↑ Hart p.71
  4. ↑ Hart p.91
  5. ↑ Hart p.91
  6. ↑ Stephens claimed that the office was worth £1000 a year, a great fortune at the time, and this was probably only a slight exaggeration.
  7. ↑ Hart p.91