Thomas Dongan (judge)

He was the fourth and youngest son of John Dongan of Castletown, County Kildare (died 1592), and his wife Margaret Forster, daughter of Walter Forster.[2] His father died when Thomas was still an infant. His eldest brother Sir Walter Dongan (1579-1626) was created the first of the Dongan Baronets, and was the ancestor of the Earls of Limerick.

Thomas entered Lincoln's Inn in 1615 but was expelled for recusancy.[3] It is likely that he remained a convinced Roman Catholic all his life (although his son-in-law records that he raised his children as Protestants, and his first wife Grace was a Protestant), but by 1627 he had at least outwardly conformed to the Church of England, and was readmitted to Lincoln's Inn and called to the English Bar. He married an English wife, Grace Palmer of Nottinghamshire, and remained in England until 1640 when he returned to Ireland, where he was admitted to the King's Inn and called to the Irish Bar.[4]

He acquired considerable wealth, although he was to lose much of it during the Irish Rebellion of 1641.[5] He acquired as his patron James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. Ormonde sent him to the English Court with a recommendation as to his loyalty, and he was appointed a justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland).[6] By 1648, when the Royalist cause had been utterly defeated in Ireland, he was said to be the only High Court judge still sitting in Dublin.[7] He was also in financial distress, which may explain his decision, which greatly harmed his reputation, to accept office under the new government of Oliver Cromwell. He acted as a High Court judge in Leinster and Ulster and sat on the High Court of Justice which tried and condemned Sir Felim O'Neill and other rebels in 1652-3. He gained no permanent benefit from his support for the Cromwelllian regime, and by 1659 he was reduced to such a state of poverty that the King's Inn excused him payment of his fees and let him live free of rent in his chamber there.[8]

His family life was marked by tragedy: his eldest son William was killed at the storming of Leicester on the eve of the Battle of Naseby, and his first wife Grace died soon afterwards. His daughter Margaret died in 1651 and her husband Arnold Boate in 1653.[9]

He was a man with a strong sense of family loyalty, and during his brief period of influence during Oliver Cromwell's regime he is said to have used his position to assist his Royalist relatives, who were threatened with forfeiture of their estates. In particular he protected Mary, Lady Dongan, the widow of his nephew Sir John Dongan, 2nd Baronet (who had died in 1650), and her numerous children, two of whom later held the title Earl of Limerick. Probably as a result of Dongan's help, this branch of the family were able to retain much of their property.[10]

After the Restoration of Charles II, Dongan, who was living in a state of considerable poverty, begged to be reappointed to the Bench, despite his age, ill-health, and dubious political loyalties. Probably Ormonde, who was soon to become Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and who never forgot a friend, recommended him for preferment, and he was appointed a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). Ball notes that his appointment came at the last possible moment, on the assumption that he was unfit for office and would be unlikely to serve for long. This assumption was justified:[11] by 1663 he was pleading to be allowed to retire on health grounds, and he died soon afterwards.[12] He was survived by his second wife, his son John and his granddaughter Mariana Boate.

Elrington Ball's unflattering portrait of Dongan in The Judges in Ireland [13] should be balanced against the kindly and respectful portrayal of the judge by his son-in-law Arnold Boate, which emphasizes his family virtues. While his service under Cromwell led to accusations of treachery to the Stuart dynasty, or at least time-serving, it should also be remembered that he used his position to assist relatives in distress.[14]