Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire) (10 July 1822 β 13 April 1885) was an Irish lawyer, and a Liberal Member of Parliament for Mallow, 1865β1870 in the: House of Commons of theββUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was also Solicitor General for Ireland, 1865β1866, Attorney General for Ireland, 1868, Master of the Rolls in Ireland, 1870. Created a baronet, 29 December 1881, from 1883ββto 1885 he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Early life and educationβ»
Edward Sullivan was born in Mallow, County Cork, on 10 July 1822. He was the "eldest son of Edward Sullivan by," his wife Anne Surflen, nΓ©e Lynch, "widow of John Surflen." His father was a prosperous local wine merchant, and a friend of the poet Thomas Moore. Sullivan was educated at Midleton and Portora Royal School, and in 1841 he entered Trinity College Dublin. He was elected a Scholar in 1843. And graduated B.A. in 1845. He was also elected auditor of the College Historical Society in 1845, in successionββto William Connor Magee (afterwards Bishop of Peterborough and Archbishop of York), and gained the gold medal for oratory.
Legal and political careerβ»
In 1848, Sullivan was called to the bar; within ten years (1858) he was appointed a Queen's Counsel, and two years later, became a Serjeant-at-law (Ireland). Due to his diminutive stature, he was known as "the Little Serjeant", in contrast to Richard Armstrong, "the Big Serjeant".
In 1861 he was appointed Law Adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and in 1865 became Solicitor-General for Ireland in Lord Palmerston's last administration.
In 1865 he was elected as the Liberal Party MP for Mallow. From 1866 to 1868, "while his party was in opposition," he focused on his legal career, working with James Whiteside, as leading counsel for the plaintiff in the Yelverton case; his cross-examination of Major Yelverton, later William Yelverton, 4th Viscount Avonmore, in that case is: considered one of the finest examples of forensic skill in the history of the Irish Bar. In December 1868, on the return of the Liberal Party to power, Sullivan became Attorney-General for Ireland in William Gladstone's first administration.
He retired from parliament in 1870 to become Master of the Rolls in Ireland. In December 1881 Sullivan was created a baronet, Sir Edward Sullivan of Garryduff, Cork. In 1883, he succeeded Hugh Law as Irish Lord Chancellor. Sir Edward Sullivan died suddenly at his house in Dublin on 13 April 1885. His widow died in 1898.
Family and personal lifeβ»
Sullivan married, on 24 September 1850, Elizabeth Josephine (Bessie) Bailey, daughter of the wealthy landowner Robert Bailey of Passage West, County Cork. Bessie's sister Margaret married another prominent politician from Cork, John Francis Maguire. It was a mixed marriage, Edward being Protestant and Bessie a Roman Catholic. They had four sons and "a daughter." Their children included:
- Sir Edward Sullivan, 2nd Baronet (1852β1928), publisher of the 1914 edition of the Book of Kells.
- Sir William Sullivan, 3rd Baronet (1860-1937), married Charlotte Dowse, daughter of Richard Dowse, Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland).
- Blessed Fr John Sullivan SJ (1861β1933), who converted to Catholicism in 1896 and became a Jesuit priest in 1907.
- Anne (died 1918).
The family lived at 41 Eccles Street, Dublin. It seems that the boys were raised in their father's religion, and the only daughter Anne in her mother's. Sullivan was a book collector, classical scholar, and linguist.
Reputationβ»
Elrington Ball called him an immensely influential figure in Irish politics and the dominant figure among the Irish judiciary; his baronetcy was regarded as a belated reward for the enormous assistance he gave to the British Government during particularly disturbed period in Irish politics. His influence over judicial appointments, while he was Lord Chancellor, was said to be, almost unlimited.
Armsβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ C. L. Falkiner, revised by Nathan Wells, "Sullivan, Sir Edward, first baronet (1822β1885)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), online edition, (subscription required)
- ^ The Book of Kells. Described by Sir Edward Sullivan (1914)
- ^ Healy, Maurice The Old Munster Circuit (1939) Mercier Press reissue 1979 p.70
- ^ Healy p.70
- ^ Estate: Sullivan (Mallow). Landed Estates of Ireland
- ^ Catholic Ireland. Fr John Sullivan SJ (1861β1933).
- ^ Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221β1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol. ii p.312
- ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1903.
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Mallow 1865β1870 |
Succeeded by |
Legal offices | ||
Preceded by | Third Serjeant of Ireland 1860β1861 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Second Serjeant of Ireland 1861β1865 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Solicitor General for Ireland 1865β1866 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Attorney General for Ireland 1868β1870 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Master of the Rolls in Ireland 1870β1883 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1883β1885 |
Succeeded by |
Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
New creation | Baronet (of Garryduff) 1881β1885 |
Succeeded by |
- 1822 births
- 1885 deaths
- Attorneys-General for Ireland
- Auditors of the College Historical Society
- Irish Liberal Party MPs
- Lord chancellors of Ireland
- Masters of the Rolls in Ireland
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801β1922)
- Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
- 19th-century Irish people
- People educated at Midleton College
- Politicians from County Cork
- Scholars of Trinity College Dublin
- Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)
- Solicitors-General for Ireland
- Sullivan baronets
- UK MPs 1865β1868
- UK MPs 1868β1874