Patrick Barnewall

Patrick Barnewall (c. 1500–1552) was a leading figure in the Irish Government of the 1530s and 1540s. He owed his position largely to his close links with Thomas Cromwell. He sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for County Dublin, and held the offices of Solicitor General for Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Today he is mainly remembered for his role in founding the King's Inns. He belonged to a junior branch of the family of Lord Trimlestown: his own descendants held the title Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland. Background He was the eldest son of Roger Barnewall of Fieldstown or Fedleston, Clonmethan, County Dublin, a member of the Kingsland branch of the prominent Barnewall family; Roger had married his cousin Alison, daughter of Christopher, 2nd Baron Trimlestown and Elizabeth Plunket, and sister of John Barnewall, 3rd Baron Trimlestown, later Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Patrick's choice of a legal career no doubt owed something to his uncle's example; he is also said to have been greatly influenced, at least in the early years, by his brother-in-law Thomas Luttrell, later Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. His most important political connection was Thomas Cromwell, whom he probably met in London in the 1520s. Patrick was at Gray's Inn in 1527, and is known to have taken part in the legal debates there. He returned to Ireland soon afterwards to practice at the Irish Bar. He acted as an agent for the family of Anne Boleyn, who had inherited substantial lands in Ireland through their relationship with the Butler dynasty. Solicitor General His appointment as King's Sergeant and as Solicitor General in 1534 was largely due to the patronage of Cromwell, who actively promoted the careers of Barnewall and his brother-in-law Sir Thomas Luttrell, and recommended Barnewall in particular for high office as being a man of "integrity and learning". His main rivals for power were the Cowleys, who were clients of the Earl of Ormond. In 1535 Barnewall obtained the lucrative posts of Collector of Customs for Dublin and Drogheda, only to lose them to Walter and Robert Cowley. Walter also aimed for Barnewall's other offices, and in 1536 Barnewall went so far as to write an abject letter to Cromwell offering to surrender all of them. In the event a new office of Principal Solicitor for Ireland was created for Cowley; Barnewall retained his seniority and his influence.