Lucas Dillon

Background and early career

He was born at Newtown in County Meath, son of Sir Robert Dillon, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, and his wife Elizabeth Barnewall of Crickstown. Sir Robert Dillon, later Lord Chief Justice, was his second cousin. He entered Middle Temple in 1561, was called to the Bar, and then returned to Ireland to practice law. His rise in the legal profession was rapid: he became Principal Solicitor for Ireland in 1565 and Attorney General the following year. He sat in the Irish House of Commons as member for Meath in the Parliament of 1568-71. He bought an estate at Moymet, near Trim, County Meath, where he built Moymet Castle, which is now a ruin.

Elevation to the Bench

In 1570 he succeeded his father-in-law James Bathe as Chief Baron, rather against the wishes of the Irish ruling class, most of whom supported the claims of the second Baron of the Exchequer, Robert Cusack. The final decision rested with Queen Elizabeth I, who wrote that while she heard very good reports of Cusack, Dillon had the stronger claim. Cusack's supporters praised him as "a true Protestant", whereas Dillon was known to incline privately to the Roman Catholic faith. However the English Crown, while it made intermittent efforts to appoint judges of sincere Protestant views, would as a rule accept outward adherence to the Church of Ireland as sufficient evidence of loyalty, and Dillon's private religious opinions, which were shared by several of his colleagues, were not a bar to advancement.

Judicial career

Until his last years, Dillon was held in high regard by the English Crown. Sir William Gerard, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, described him as an energetic reformer, diligent in attending the Privy Council and the Court of Castle Chamber (the Irish equivalent of Star Chamber), and one of the few judges of real eminence in Ireland, at a time when the quality of most Irish judges was often compared unfavourably to that of the most junior of English barristers. He was particularly close to Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, who called him "my faithful Dillon", and knighted him. He played a considerable part in putting down the Desmond Rebellions and the rebellion of William Nugent.

Nicholas Nugent

His reputation suffered greatly through his conduct as a judge of the trial of William Nugent's uncle Nicholas Nugent for treason in 1582. Nicholas had been Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the trial of a senior judge on such a charge was without precedent. There was a long and bitter feud between the two families: Lucas' cousin Robert reportedly hoped to succeed Nugent as Chief Justice, and the fact that among the charges was an accusation that Nugent had plotted to kill both Dillons should have disqualified them from sitting. The conviction and execution of Nugent caused grave public disquiet, (although he did at least have the benefit of trial by jury), and led to a claim that Irish born judges were incapable of giving impartial justice to their own people.

Later years

Dillon was by now acquiring enemies, but he also had friends, including the new Lord Deputy, Sir John Perrot. He was spoken of as a likely Lord Chancellor, although his critics said he was too corrupt to be suitable for the post. Elizabeth I herself thought highly of him and at one point was said to have offered him the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. As Perrot's Deputyship became increasingly embattled Dillon, his ally, was also attacked: Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin accused him of recusancy, a very serious charge to make against a servant of the Crown. William Nugent, who had received a royal pardon for his rebellion against the Crown, made a concerted attack on Sir Robert Dillon, who was by now Lord Chief Justice, and for a time had him suspended from office. Lucas was also attacked, and the stress of defending himself against charges of corruption is said to have hastened his death, although he was an old man by the standards of the age, and had been in ill- health for some years. He died in Dublin, and was buried at Newtown Abbey, near Trim.

Family

Dillon married firstly Jane Bathe, daughter of his predecessor Chief Baron James Bathe by whom he had a son and two daughters-

Lucas married secondly Marion Sherle, widow of Sir Christopher Barnewall of Turvey; Eleanor, one of her many daughters by her first marriage, married her stepfather's son James Dillon.

Lucas' daughter Genet married Christopher Plunkett, 9th Baron Killeen and was the mother of

His daughter Eleanor married Robert Rochfort of Kilbryde, County Meath, and had issue: they were ancestors of the prominent Rochfort family.

Reputation

Lucas Dillon's record as a judge and as a statesman has received somewhat mixed opinions from historians. Elrington Ball stresses the charges of corruption made against him and his questionable conduct of the Nugent trial. Crawford on the other hand praises his talent and energy, points to the high regard most Crown officials had for him, and argues that the charges of corruption made against him were partisan in nature. It is significant that Queen Elizabeth, who was noted for her skill in choosing good public servants, thought highly of him.