Introduction
John Bysse (c.1602–1680) was a member of the Parliament of Ireland during the 1630s and 1640s. He was excluded from office during the Interregnum, but became one of the most seniorIrish judges after the Restoration of Charles II.
Biography
Bysse was born around 1602, the eldest son ofChristopher Bysse, who died before 1615. Christopher was an official of the Exchequer, as was his own father, Robert Bysse. John's mother was Margaret Forster, daughter of John Forster, an alderman of Dublin.
Bysse was admitted as a member of the King's Inns in 1632. He was elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Charlemont in 1634 and became Recorder of Dublin in the same year. He was re-elected to the Commons in 1640.
At the outbreak of Irish Rebellion of 1641 John Bysse, along with his younger brother Robert (who was Recorder of Drogheda) were among the leaders of the royalist and Protestant faction in Parliament. This faction opposed the royalist Catholic faction, but were allied with it from 1649 to oppose the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
During the Commonwealth he remained Recorder of Dublin, he was twice recommended for appointment to theHigh Court Bench and was elected to Parliament,but excluded. At the Restoration hewas appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and held that office until his death. In addition to serving on the Bench, he attended regularly atthe Irish House of Lords, acting as a legal adviser to the Lords.He is buried in St. Audoen's Church, Dublin.
Bysse became a substantial landowner, inheriting Preston's Inn, on the site of the present City Hall, Dublin,where he built a substantial mansion (which was demolished in the 1760s),andalsoBrackenstown near Swords, which had been bought by his father around 1611.Later he was granted part of the freehold of Philipstown (now Daingean), County Offaly.
Personality and reputation
Elrington Ball remarks flippantly that Bysse had a kind of "hereditary claim" on the Exchequer as both his father and grandfather had been officials there. In fact the author makes it clear that Bysse was eminently qualified to be Chief Baron: he had been Recorder of Dublin for 25 years and had sat in two Parliaments; he was hard-working,conscientious and popular with all political factions. In religion he seems to have been tolerant by the standards of the time, causing something of a stir in 1665 when he acted as mourner at the funeral of a nonconformist clergyman.
Despite Bysse's undoubtedgood qualities, within a few years of his appointment as Chief Baron serious complaints were being made about his slowness and incompetence; he was even accused of senility. These complaints were taken seriously and in 1669 and 1671 he was threatened with removal from office. He was fortunate in enjoying the friendship of the Lord Lieutenant, James, Duke of Ormonde, to whom loyalty was a cardinal virtue: as Ball remarks "those whom he ever loved, he loved to the end". Ormonde strongly defended Bysse, admitting he was slow in giving judgement but arguing that his integrity and capacity for hard work compensated for this, and he deniedthat there had been any fall-off in Bysse's mental abilities. These arguments were presumably successful since he was not removed from office. In his last years there were persistent rumours that he would either resign or be dismissed, but in fact he remained Chief Baron until his death in 1680, aged about seventy-eight.
Family
John Bysse married Margaret Edgeworth (died 1676) daughter of Francis Edgeworth and widow of John King. They had numerouschildren who died young, andtwo surviving daughters:
- Judith, who marriedfirstly Robert Molesworth,(died 1656) by whom shewas mother of Robert, the 1st Viscount Molesworth, and secondly Sir William Tichborne of Beaulieu, by whom she had several further children, includingHenry Tichborne, 1st Baron Ferrard;
- Catherine (died 1664), who married the politician Sir Richard Bulkeley, 1st Baronet, and had issue, including Sir Richard Bulkeley, 2nd Baronet.