John Blennerhassett

Sir John Blennerhassett (c. 1560–1624) was an English-born judge and politician who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for Belfast. He was a member of a prominent Norfolk family which acquired large estates in Ireland, mainly in County Fermanagh. The Blennerhassett family have an enduring connection with County Kerry.

Family He was born at Pockthorpe, near Lyng, Norfolk, a younger son of Sir Edward Blennerhassett and Susan Pickarell, daughter of John Pickarell of Cringleford. His father, who also held lands at Horsford, was a substantial landowner and magistrate, noted for his "Godly zeal" and staunchly Puritan views. He was knighted in 1603. John's brothers Edward and Thomas played a key part in the Plantation of Ulster and they and their father were granted large estates in Fermanagh. Robert Blennerhassett, the founder of the Blennerhassett family of Ballyseedy, County Kerry, was a cousin of the judge, as was the elder John Blennerhassett, who was Member of Parliament for Norwich in 1563 and 1571. In 1609 he became a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn and in the same year he was sent to Ireland as an extra Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland), due to the "infirmity" of the existing Barons; he ranked in seniority directly after the Chief Baron, Sir John Denham. He became a member of the King's Inn and became Treasurer in 1611, and had his own chamber in the Inn. He was knighted by James I at Hampton Court in 1609.

Elrington Ball attributes his promotion to the office of Chief Baron in 1621 to his powerful political connections. His wife Ursula died in 1638 and was buried beside him. The inscription which was added to the tomb after her burial records that several of their children had died in the meantime, including Henry, their eldest son, who was a member of the British Guiana Company, in which capacity he settled in South America, where he drowned in the Amazon River in 1632.

Since none of his sons had children, their father's estates were divided between their sisters' heirs. Henry left most of his personal property to his sister Elizabeth. Her descendants included Charles Monck, 1st Viscount Monck.