Robert Rochfort | |
|---|---|
 Robert Rochfort as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons | |
| Born | (1652-12-09)9 December 1652 |
| Died | 10 October 1727(1727-10-10) (aged 74) |
| Occupation(s) | lawyer, politician and judge |
| Known for | Attorney General for Ireland,Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer,Speaker of the Irish House of Commons |
| Spouse | Hannah Handcock |
| Children | George Rochfort John Rochfort |
| Parents |
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Robert Rochfort (9 December 1652 – 10 October 1727) was an Irish lawyer, politician and judge of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He held office asAttorney General for Ireland,Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, andSpeaker of the Irish House of Commons.
Rochfort was born 9 December 1652, the second son of Lt.-Col.James (nick-named "Prime-Iron") Rochfort (d. 1652), a Cromwellian soldier, and his wife Thomasina (née Pigott) Hull, daughter of Sir Robert Pigott of Dysart Manor,County Laois, and widow of Argentine Hull of Leamcon,County Cork. Robert was born posthumously: his father, who had fatally wounded one Major Turner in aduel, wascourt-martialled and executed formurder a few months before Robert's birth. His mother made a third marriage to George Peyton of Streamstown,County Roscommon, who was her distant cousin through her mother Thomasina Peyton, second wife of Sir Robert Pigott.
The Rochfort family is recorded in Ireland from 1243. They acquired substantial lands inMeath,Westmeath andKildare. Robert was descended from Sir Milo de Rochfort (died after 1309). His father was the younger son of James Rochfort of Agherry,County Wicklow and his wife Catherine Sarsfield.
Rochfort initially pursued a successful legal career in Ireland before going on to attain high government office. In 1680 he was appointedRecorder ofDerry, a post which he held until 1707.
Between 1692 and 1707, Rochfort representedCounty Westmeath in theIrish House of Commons. He supported the 'whiggish' elements in the House at this time in their claim to possess the 'sole right' to legislate for Ireland. This was both a challenge toPoynings' Law and the Irish executive, leading to a constitutional crisis, resolved by a compromise in the parliamentary session of 1695. Rochfort was, nonetheless, appointed Attorney-General in 1694 with the help of the WhigLord Justice,Lord Capell. With the executive's support, he was elected Speaker of the Irish House of Commons the same year. He remained in this position until 1699.
He played a key role in theimpeachment of theLord Chancellor of Ireland, SirCharles Porter, on charges of judicial misconduct in 1695. The impeachment collapsed after Porter's brilliant speech in his own defence. Disappointment, and a keen sense of his own dignity, led Rochfort to start a quarrel the night after Porter's acquittal: seeing the Lord Chancellor'scoach trying to precede his, he jumped down and tried to physically restrain Porter's coachman. TheIrish House of Lords next day rebuked the Commons over the affair. The Commons replied that the affair had been a misunderstanding, and that Rochfort, it being a very dark winter night, had not recognised Porter (the streets of Dublin were in fact notoriously dark and badly lit in that era). The matter was allowed to drop.[1]
Meanwhile, Rochfort began to demonstrateTory sympathies: from 1703 he became identifiable as one of the government's leading parliamentary managers. He becameChief Baron of the Exchequer in 1707. He remained in this position until 1714, when, on the death ofAnne, Queen of Great Britain, along with almost all his colleagues on the Bench, he was dismissed from office on account of his political sympathies. Rochfort now returned to his practice at theIrish Bar.
Robert married Hannah Handcock, daughter ofWilliam Handcock, MP forCounty Westmeath and his wife Abigail Stanley, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley and Mary Hammond, and sister of the writerThomas Stanley. Together, they had two sons:[2]
Rochfort died on 10 October 1727.
Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather ofRobert Rochfort, who was raised to the Irish peerage in 1737 asBaron Belfield and madeEarl of Belvedere in 1757.[3]
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
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| Preceded by Patriot Parliament | Member of Parliament forCounty Westmeath 1692–1707 With:Dillon Pollard 1692–1695 George Peyton 1695–1703 William Handcock 1703–1707 George Rochfort 1707 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Irish House of Commons 1695–1699 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney-General for Ireland 1695-1707 | Succeeded by |
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