Patrick Barnewall

Patrick Barnewall (c. 1500–1552) was a leading figure in the Irish Government of the 1530s and 1540s. He owed his position largely to his close links with Thomas Cromwell. He sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for County Dublin, and held the offices of Solicitor General for Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Today he is mainly remembered for his role in founding the King's Inns. He belonged to a junior branch of the family of Lord Trimlestown: his own descendants held the title Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland.

Background He was the eldest son of Roger Barnewall of Fieldstown or Fedleston, Clonmethan, County Dublin, a member of the Kingsland branch of the prominent Barnewall family; Roger had married his cousin Alison, daughter of Christopher, 2nd Baron Trimlestown and Elizabeth Plunket, and sister of John Barnewall, 3rd Baron Trimlestown, later Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Patrick's choice of a legal career no doubt owed something to his uncle's example; he is also said to have been greatly influenced, at least in the early years, by his brother-in-law Thomas Luttrell, later Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He returned to Ireland soon afterwards to practice at the Irish Bar. He acted as an agent for the family of Anne Boleyn, who had inherited substantial lands in Ireland through their relationship with the Butler dynasty. His main rivals for power were the Cowleys, who were clients of the Earl of Ormond. In 1535 Barnewall obtained the lucrative posts of Collector of Customs for Dublin and Drogheda, only to lose them to Walter and Robert Cowley. Walter also aimed for Barnewall's other offices, and in 1536 Barnewall went so far as to write an abject letter to Cromwell offering to surrender all of them. despite his heavy obligations to the Crown, he initially opposed the Protestant Reformation. In 1540 he was in England discussing Parliamentary business and was recommended to the Crown as a man of integrity and learning, and an expert on the situation in the Pale.

King's Inns Barnewall is now chiefly remembered for his role in establishing the King's Inns. Like most of the Anglo-Irish gentry (even those, like Barnewall himself and his brother-in-law Thomas Luttrell, who spoke fluent Irish)

Character Barnewall has been described as a "redoubtable figure" who was noted for his integrity and learning. Kenny describes him as an astute politician. Hart agrees with this verdict and notes the crucial role Barnewall played in Government; probably no other Solicitor General in Irish history ever approached his influence. If his opposition to the suppression of the monasteries was self-interested, it nonetheless took considerable nerve; he also deserves credit for the courage he showed by his willingness to plead with Henry VIII for a general pardon for those gentry suspected of rebellion.

Family Barnewall married, before 1522, Anne Luttrell, daughter of Richard Luttrell of Luttrellstown Castle and Margaret Fitzlyons and sister of Thomas Luttrell, the future Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. They had two children: Sir Christopher Barnewall, an extremely popular member of Parliament and Sheriff of County Dublin, and ancestor of the Viscounts Barnewall Margaret, who married a cousin, also called Patrick Barnewall.