Richard Pyne

Sir Richard Pyne (1644 – December 1709) was an Irish landowner, barrister and judge. He held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1695-1709.

Background - the Pynes of Mogeely He was born in County Cork, the fourth son of Nicholas Pyne of Mogeely, Henry returned to Ireland in about 1601 and prospered, despite quarrelling with other settlers, notably Sir Walter Raleigh, from whom he rented his lands, and the formidable Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, who acquired Raleigh's interest; there was also much gossip about his unscrupulous business practices. He died sometime after 1620. His wife was a Miss Stronge from Dunkitt, County Kilkenny. Mogeely, County Cork, present day. The Pyne family were the main landowners here, and built Mogeely Castle, which no longer stands, apart from a few traces

Education and early career

Richard matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford in 1662 and entered the Middle Temple the same year. He was called to the English Bar in 1669 and to the Irish Bar in 1674 when he also entered the King's Inns. In 1688 he quarrelled sharply with Justin MacCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel, one of James II's most influential Irish generals, but later denied that he had fought a duel with him. Pyne was knighted in 1692. Pyne presided at the trial for embezzlement of Colonel James Waller, Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale, in 1697. As Chief Justice he clashed with the powerful cleric William King, Bishop of Derry and future Archbishop of Dublin, who accused him of interfering in Church affairs. He is listed as one of the trustees of the King's Inns in 1706. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1707. He died at his English estate at Ashley in Surrey in December 1709. His only son Henry married Anne Edgecumbe, daughter of Sir Richard Edgecumbe and Lady Anne Montagu, and sister of Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe. Their daughter Anne married Sir Henry Cavendish and was the mother of the statesman Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet, whose descendants took the title Baron Waterpark.

Pyne also left substantial lands, including Ballyvolane, to his nephew Robert Wakeham, the son of his sister Jane. Jane had married a cousin, son of her aunt Catherine Pyne, who married Richard Wakeham. As a condition of inheriting these lands laid down in his uncle's will, Robert added the surname Pyne to his original name; the Wykeham Pynes remained at Ballyvolane for several generations. Robert was dead by 1715, when his widow Margaret filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery.

Reputation In 1698, the Irish-born author and publisher John Dunton who was on a visit to Dublin, gave a favourable picture of most of the Irish judiciary, including Pyne, describing them as "men whose reputation is such that no one complains of them".

A portrait of Pyne in his judicial robes by William Gandy still exists.