| Short Title: | County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of Ireland |
| Long Title: | An Act for extinguishing the regalities and liberties of the county of Tipperary, and Cross-Tipperary, commonly called the County Palatine of Tipperary; and for vesting in his Majesty the estate of James Butler, commonly called James duke of Ormond; and for giving a reward of ten thousand pounds to any person, who shall seize of secure him, in case he shall attempt to land in this kingdom. |
| Year: | 1715 |
| Citation: | 2 Geo. 1. c. 8 (I) |
The County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715 is an act of the Parliament of Ireland (2 Geo. 1. c. 8 (I)). This act enabled the purchase by the crown of the Palatine Rights in County Tipperary given to the Earls of Ormond, later Dukes of Ormonde, over the preceding centuries. Prior to the act, the dukes appointed the sheriffs and judges of the county and owned certain revenues from the county which would otherwise have gone to the Crown.
The passing of the act was followed almost at once by the attainder for treason of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, who fled to France on suspicion of being involved in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. Although his titles and estates were restored at the end of the 18th century to another branch of the Butler family, there was no question of reviving the Palatine Court, which was by then an anachronism.
Although the position of Chief Judge, or Seneschal, of the Palatine Court was widely regarded as a sinecure, it is interesting to note that several holders of the office were lawyers of repute, and at least two later held high judicial office. They included:
There was also a second justice, sometimes called the Master of the Rolls, attached to the Palatine court, which suggests that the Court's workload may have been heavier than generally believed.[2] The name of at least three of the second justices are known: