Sir Richard Shee | |
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Born | c.1550 |
Died | 1608 Bonnetstown, County Kilkenny |
Alma mater | Gray's Inn, King's Inns |
Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Politician, Deputy Lord Treasurer |
Spouses |
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Children | Robert, Lucas, Thomas, John, Marcus, Lettice, Katherine, Margate, Isabel |
Parents |
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Sir Richard Shee (c. 1550 - 1608) [1] was an Irish lawyer, politician, and Deputy Lord Treasurer of Ireland. He was a prominent member of the ruling class in Kilkenny city. [2] He is best remembered for his influence on the architecture of Kilkenny city through his founding of the Shee Alms House in Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, [1] and for his ornate tomb in Saint Mary's Church. [2]
The Shee family were descended from Gaelic lords Clan Ua Seaghdha in the Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry, in southwestern Ireland. [2] During the 14th century they moved to Tipperary and then on to Kilkenny where Richard Shee's grandfather Robert O'Shee rose to prominence and was recorded as being sovereign of Kilkenny city. [2] [3]
Richard Shee was an important member of the prominent Shee family of Kilkenny as noted by archaeologist Cóilín Ó Drisceoil:
The O’Shees became firm allies of the ruling Butler (Ormonde) family and this Robert died in battle in 1500 whilst fighting under their standard. The close relationship with the Butler family guaranteed success for the Shee family politically, financially and culturally which today is reflected in a legacy of architectural and sculptural heritage in Kilkenny city – the Shee Alms house, domestic houses, a now destroyed wayside cross and their funeral monuments. [2]
Richard Shee was the eldest son of Robert Shee (Sovereign of Kilkenny 1545-46, 1553–54; M.P. for Kilkenny in 1559) and his wife Margaret Rothe, [4] sister of John Rothe of Rothe House, also souvereign and mayor of Kilkenny.
Shee pursued a career in law, first as a student of Gray's Inn and later as a bencher of the King's Inns. He was also seneschal of Kilkenny's Irishtown district in 1568. Bishop of Ossory Christopher Gafney granted him the manor of Uppercourt in County Kilkenny in 1570, and in the following year he was made Treasurer of the regalities of Tipperary in 1571 [4] and in 1576 he was made Deputy to the Lord Treasurer of Ireland. [3] This led to his knighthood sometime shortly after 1582. [3] He worked closely with Thomas, Earl of Ormonde throughout his legal career which led to him greatly increasing his property holdings and wealth. [3]
Richard Shee founded the Hospital of Jesus of Kilkenny, but popularly known as the Shee's Alms House in Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny which still stands today and was used for as the Tourist Information Office. [5]
Richard Shee died on 10 August 1608 in his residence in Bonnetstown, a short distance outside of Kilkenny City. [4] [6]
Shee was married twice, first to Margaret Sherlock of Waterford, [3] and then to Margaret Fagan of Dublin. He had no children by his second wife. His surviving children were:
The Shee family tombs projected the wealth and influence the family had in Kilkenny. Richard Shee was buried in Saint Mary's Church in Kilkenny City under an engraved monument. [7] He stipulated in his will for his son and heir Lucas to build an appropriate tomb for a man of his standing in the community:
"I bequeath my soul to God, and my body to the buried in my said ffather’s burial in my parish church of our Ladye in Kilkennye. Executors of this my last will and testament doe make constitute and appoynte my sonnes Lucas Shee, Marcus Shee and John Shee; whom I doe appoynte to buylde a decent monument of the value of 100 marks sterling over my said burial” [2]
Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland, built in 1260 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of Norman occupation, and in its original 13th-century condition, it would have formed an important element of the town's defences with four large circular corner towers and a massive ditch, part of which can still be seen today on the Parade.
Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond and 3rd Earl of OssoryPC (Ire), was an influential courtier in London at the court of Elizabeth I. He was Lord Treasurer of Ireland from 1559 to his death. He fought for the crown in the Rough Wooing, the Desmond Rebellions, and Tyrone's Rebellion. He fought his rival, Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond in the Battle of Affane in 1565.
Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Ossory also known as Red Piers, was from the Polestown branch of the Butler family of Ireland. In the succession crisis at the death of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond he succeeded to the earldom as heir male, but lost the title in 1528 to Thomas Boleyn. He regained it after Boleyn's death in 1538.
Elizabeth Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield was an Irish-born beauty. She was a courtier after the Restoration at the court of Charles II of England at Whitehall. She was the second wife of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield.
Kilkenny City was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.
Walter Butler (1703–1783), also known as Walter Butler of Kilcash, and Walter Butler of Garryricken, was the de jure16th Earl of Ormond and 9th Earl of Ossory. He did not assume these titles, as he thought them forfeit as a result of the attainder of the 2nd Duke of Ormonde. In the peerage of Ireland, the titles were successfully claimed in 1791 by his son John, the 17th Earl.
Sir Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond and 4th Earl of Ossory (1559–1633), succeeded his uncle Black Tom, the 10th earl, in 1614. He was called "Walter of the Beads" because he was a devout Catholic, whereas his uncle had been a Protestant. King James I intervened and awarded most of the inheritance to his uncle's Protestant daughter Elizabeth. Ormond contested the King's decision and was for that insolence detained in the Fleet Prison from 1619 until 1625 when he submitted to the King's ruling. He then found a means to reunite the Ormond estate, by marrying his grandson James, who had been raised a Protestant, to Elizabeth's only daughter.
Rothe House is a late 16th-century merchant's townhouse complex located in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland. The complex was built by John Rothe Fitz-Piers between 1594–1610 and is made up of three houses, three enclosed courtyards, and a large reconstructed garden with orchard. As a museum, it is accessible to the public.
The Diocese of Ossory is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. Currently, it is led by Niall Coll who was appointed on 28 October 2022 and will be ordained bishop on 22 January 2023.
Freshford is a village and former town in the barony of Crannagh, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is 13 km north-west of Kilkenny city. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.
St Canice's Cathedral, also known as Kilkenny Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Kilkenny city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ossory, it is now one of six cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory.
The Mayor of Kilkenny is an honorific title used by the head of Kilkenny Borough Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland. The office was established in the 16th century and had significant powers. The office was all but abolished under the Local Government Act 2001. All that remains of the office, per section 11 of the Act is a symbolic role: "Subject to this Act, royal charters and letters patent relating to local authorities shall continue to apply for ceremonial and related purposes in accordance with local civic tradition but shall otherwise cease to have effect.". The Act goes on to state the chairman of the Council must be styled the Cathaoirleach and that "Any reference in any other enactment to the lord mayor, mayor, chairman, deputy lord mayor, deputy mayor or vice-chairman or cognate words shall, where the context so requires, be read as a reference to the Cathaoirleach or Leas-Chathaoirleach or other title standing for the time being.".
Butler is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. The family has produced multiple titles such as Baron Cahir, Baron Dunboyne, Viscount Ikerrin, Viscount Galmoye, Viscount Mountgarret, Viscount Thurles, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Kilkenny, Earl of Ormond, Earl of Ossory, Marquess of Ormonde and Duke of Ormonde. Variant spellings of the name include le Boteler and le Botiller. The Butlers were descendants of Anglo-Norman lords who participated in the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. The surname has its origins in the hereditary office of "Butler (cup-bearer) of Ireland", originating with Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland. The arms of later family members depicted three cups in recognition of their original office.
Sir John Everard was an Irish barrister, politician and judge. He was notable as the last Irish judge until the reign of James II to openly profess the Roman Catholic faith. His religious beliefs eventually led to his enforced resignation from the Bench in 1607.
Gerald Comerford (c.1558–1604), was an Irish barrister, judge and statesman of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He sat in the House of Commons in the Irish Parliament of 1585–6, and briefly held office as Chief Justice of Munster and as a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He profited from his close family association with the Earl of Ormond. Comerford rose rapidly in the public service to become a trusted servant of the English Crown, and would probably have become one of the dominant political figures in the southeast of Ireland had it not been for his early death.
Green's Bridge, or Greensbridge, is an elegant, Palladian-style, limestone arch bridge that crosses the river Nore in Kilkenny, Ireland. The bridge is a series of five elliptical arches of high-quality carved limestone masonry with a two-arch culvert to the east. Its graceful profile, architectural design value, and civil engineering heritage endow it with national significance. Historian Maurice Craig described it as one of the five-finest bridges in Ireland. It was built by William Colles and designed by George Smith, and was completed in 1766. The bridge was 250 years old in 2016.
Shee Alms House was founded by the Shee family in 1582 'to accommodate twelve poor persons' in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a nationally significant Tudor period almshouse.
St. Mary's Church was a church in Kilkenny, Ireland, first built in 1202 at the time of the Norman settlement of the town. The church building was deconsecrated in 1957 and has been used as the Medieval Mile Museum since 2017.
Robert Rothe was an Irish antiquarian.