John Cusacke (died 1626) was a wealthy merchant, landowner and local politician in seventeenth-century Dublin, who served as both Mayor and Sheriff of Dublin city.
He was born in County Meath, eldest of the ten children of Patrick Cusacke of Ballymolghan and his wife Maud Plunkett, daughter of Thomas Plunkett of Loch Gabhair (Lagore), Ratoath. The Cusacks were recorded at Ballymolghan from 1508.
He was admitted as a freeman of the city of Dublin in 1592, having served his apprenticeship. He married Margaret Allen, daughter of Giles Allen, a former Mayor of Dublin, and widow of John Gough, an alderman. They had five children, including Robert, who inherited his father's estate and sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for Kells in 1640–1642, and Anne, who married Richard Barry.
John served as Sheriff of Dublin City in 1599–1600 and was an alderman of Dublin Corporation from 1604 until his death. He was active on several committees of the corporation, notably one to lobby for the corporation's interests in the forthcoming Parliament of 1613–1615, and served as the Corporation's Treasurer in 1610–1611. He was Mayor of Dublin in 1608–1609: Robert Kennedy, who had hoped to be mayor, was passed over, apparently because he was a recusant. John himself, though he conformed outwardly to the Protestant faith, was deeply sympathetic to Roman Catholics, and was an active member of Saint Anne's Guild, the leading Catholic guild in Dublin, helping to defend its charter when it was under threat. He served four terms as one of the masters of the Dublin Merchants' Guild, and on its behalf, he petitioned the English Crown in 1609 for repayment of loans owing to the Irish Exchequer: he claimed that £1300 was owed to him personally, an indication of his wealth.
He became a substantial landowner in Dublin and Meath. The principal Cusacke family home was Rathgar Castle (which had been built by the Segrave family in the sixteenth century). It stood in Rathgar, which is now a suburb of Dublin: he bought the castle in 1609. All trace of it has vanished today, but it probably stood on present-day Highfield Road.
He was the grandfather of two distinguished judges: Robert, his eldest son, was the father of Adam Cusack, justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland), and his daughter Anne was the mother of James Barry, 1st Baron Barry of Santry, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
Christopher Plunkett, 1st Baron of Dunsany was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the second son of Christopher Plunkett, 1st Baron Killeen.
James Barry, 1st Baron Barry of Santry PC (Ire) (1603–1673) was an Irish lawyer, judge and peer.
Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany was an Irish peer. An only child, he was the son of author and playwright Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany and Lady Beatrice Child Villiers, daughter of Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey.
Robert St Lawrence, 3rd Baron Howth was a leading statesman in 15th-century Ireland who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Through his second marriage, he was a close connection to the new Tudor dynasty, to which his son was staunchly loyal.
Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth was a leading Irish soldier and statesman of the early Tudor period, who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
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Sir Patrick Barnewall or Barnwall, was the eldest son of Sir Christopher Barnewall of Turvey House, Grace Dieu Abbey, and Fieldston. Christopher in turn was the son of the elder Sir Patrick Barnewall, who in 1534 was made Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and Solicitor-General for Ireland, and in 1550 became Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Patrick's mother was Marion Sherle, daughter of Richard Sherle of Shallon, County Meath: after his father's death, she remarried the prominent judge Sir Lucas Dillon. She died in 1607.
Sir Thomas Luttrell was a wealthy Anglo-Irish landowner of the sixteenth-century Irish Pale. He was also a distinguished lawyer and judge who held the offices of King's Serjeant, Solicitor General for Ireland and Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
Sir Thomas Cusack (also spelt Cusacke or Cusake) (1490–1571) was an Anglo-Irish judge and statesman of the sixteenth century, who held the offices of Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, and sat in the Irish House of Commons. He was one of the most trusted and dependable Crown servants of his time, although he led a somewhat turbulent private life.
Jenet Sarsfield, Baroness Dunsany was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman who lived in Dublin during the Tudor era. She is chiefly memorable for having married no less than six husbands.
Christopher St Lawrence, 5th Baron Howth (c.1485–1542) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and statesman of the Tudor era.
Robert Cusack (c.1516–1570) was an Irish judge of the sixteenth century, who held office as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He was strongly recommended for the position of Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, but was passed over for the office, though with a promise of future preferment. His career was cut short by his premature death.
Sir John de Shriggeley, whose family name is also spelt Shirggeley and Shryggeley was an Irish statesman and judge who held several important judicial offices, including Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. Although he committed two murders, he was a valued servant of the English Crown.
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