Denis George

Denis George (c.1751 – 1821) was an Irish judge who held office as Recorder of Dublin and Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He enjoyed a high reputation among his contemporaries for integrity and benevolence.^[1]

Personal life

He was born in Dublin, third son of Denis George of St. Stephen's Green, whose country estate was at Clophook near Stradbally in County Laois, and his wife Sarah Young. His eldest brother Rupert became an Admiral and the first of the George baronets.^[2]

Denis married Dorothea Moore of County Tipperary in 1785 and they had two daughters.^[3] She died in 1814. He retired from the Bench in 1821 and died at his home, Coldblow House in Donnybrook, Dublin the same year.^[4]

Career

Denis graduated Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dublin in 1773, entered Middle Temple in 1774 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1776. He was a commissioner in bankruptcy, became Recorder of Dublin in 1785 and Baron of the Exchequer in 1794.^[5]

He was frequently called on to sit on special commissions to deal with political crime, notably after the Rebellion of 1798, the Irish Rebellion of 1803, (led by Robert Emmet) and the agrarian unrest caused by a secret society called The Threshers in 1806.^[6] His speech of welcome for the new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Henry Hutton, in 1803 shows how profoundly the Emmet Rising had shaken the ruling class,^[7] although he concluded optimistically that "the foul rebellion which disgraced our streets" had been largely extinguished by firm Government action.^[8]

Reputation

Even the harshest critics of the Irish judiciary at that time had nothing but praise for him: he was described as a man of stainless reputation and of "unrivalled humanity".^[9] There is an agreeable description of George and his wife wandering the grounds of Coldblow House each autumn to pick blackberries.

References