High Sheriff of Wexford explained

The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Wexford unless stated otherwise.

High Sheriffs of County Wexford

• Sir Richard Synnott of Ballybrennan
• 1355 Nicholas Brown (also Escheator of County Wexford)
• 1414 John Roche^[1]
• 1423: Robert Bosschier^[2]
• 1543: Patrick de Lonport^[3]
• 1548: Oliver Sutton
• 1570: Sir Thomas Masterson
• 1591: Walter Synnott
  • 1595 : Lodowick Bryskett 1596: Leonard Colclough
• 1620: Nicholas Loftus
• 1627: Patrick Esmonde
• 1630: Sir Adam Colclough, 1st Baronet, of Tintern Abbey
• 1649: Walter Talbot of Ballynamony^[4]
• 1652: Thomas Sadleir of Sopwell Hall
• 1656: Thomas Dancer
• 1666: Christian Bor^[5]
• 1666: Francis Harvey
• 1667:
• 1675: Richard Nunn of St Margaret's^[6]
• 1677: Nathaniel Boyse of Bannow
• 1678: Matthew Forde
• 1680: John Cliffe ^[7]
• 1683: Patrick Lambert of Carnagh
• 1686: Robert Carew
• 1688: Patrick Colclough of Mohurry or Duffry Hall
• 1689:
• 1692: Thomas Sadleir of Sopwell Hall
• 1694: John Harvey of Killiane Castle
• 1695: Thomas Sadleir of Sopwell Hall
• 1696: Edward Kenney of Newfort House
• 1697:

Notes and References

1. Patent Roll 2 Henry V
2. Patent Roll 2 Henry VI
3. Web site: Carnsore Chronicles . 2 December 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121122063346/http://www.carnsorechronicles.ie/page9.php . 22 November 2012 . dmy-all .
4. Book: D'Alton, John. King James's Irish Army List. John D'Alton (historian). 51.
5. Book: Chronicles of County Wexford.
6. Book: Burke, Bernard. A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Britain..., Volume 1. 1098. Google Books
7. Book: Burke. A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain. 1852. 230.