James Bathe

James Bathe (c.1500–1570) was an Irish judge of the Tudor era, who was notable for serving as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer for thirty years under four successive monarchs. He was the grandfather of the 1st Earl of Roscommon, and of the noted musicologist William Bathe.

Background He was born at Beshellstown, Clonalvy, County Meath to a long-established Anglo-Irish family, the main branch of which was settled at Athcarne Castle, near Duleek: they had also held lands at Rathfeigh since about 1400. The Bathe family had a disputed claim to the title Baron Louth, but lost it to the Plunketts. Sir Thomas Bathe, styled Baron Louth, an earlier Chief Baron, belonged to the same family, as did John Bathe, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. James entered Middle Temple in 1522 and acted as Master of the Revels in the Temple in 1524.

Career In the early stages of his career, he was a firm adherent of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare. In 1525 while on a visit to England, he took the opportunity to present the Crown with a book he had written on the need for reformation of the governance of Ireland, and how to achieve it. This step aroused the hostility of the increasingly powerful Cowley family: Robert Cowley, the head of the family, warned Cardinal Wolsey that the book was in fact an effort to persuade King Henry VIII that there was no solution to Ireland's problems but the return to power of Kildare, who was then in temporary disgrace. In addition to his loyal service to Thomas's father, the 9th Earl of Kildare, he was a friend of several of the rebels, and had recently married the daughter of John Burnell of Balgriffin, one of the ringleaders of the rebellion.

He was appointed the Irish Chief Baron in 1540 and held office under each successive Tudor monarch until his death in 1570, being commended for his good service to the Crown,