John Plunket

Sir John Plunket (c.1497–1582) was an Irish politician andjudgeof the Tudorera who held the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was also a member of the Privy Council of Ireland and was regarded bythree successive English monarchs as a valuedservant of the Crown. He was noted forhis integrity, but was criticised for remaining in office whenold age and illnesshad made himclearly unfit for it. He isnotable as the fifth of the six husbands of Jenet Sarsfield.

He was the eldest son of Christopher Plunket of Dunsoghly Castle, Finglas,and his wifeCatherine Bermingham. Hisgrandfathers, Thomas Plunket and Philip Bermingham, had presided respectively over the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of King's Bench. His precise date of birth is unknown but Elrington Ball believedthat he was at least 85 when he died. He joined theInner Temple and was Master of Revels there in 1518. He entered the service of Richard Delahide, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, whohad married his sister Jenet; Delahide arranged forhimto be appointed a clerkin the Common Pleas. He inherited Dunsoghlysometimebefore 1547.

Dunsoghly Castle, Plunket's familyhome

In the reign of King Edward VI he wasdescribed as the right-hand man of the Lord Deputy of Ireland,Sir Edward Bellingham, whom he served as Comptroller of the Household; his job includedsuch mundane tasksasproviding beds and beer for the Deputy's entourage. He is also said to have enjoyed the confidence of the Lord Protector, the Duke of Somerset.

Under Mary I he became a member of the Privy Council and sat on several legal commissions; he is said to have enjoyedthe Queen's personal goodwill. Mary's regardfor Plunket was shared by Elizabeth I who as soon as she succeeded her sisteras Queen appointed himher Lord Chief Justice.

He remaineda member ofthe PrivyCouncil to the end of his lifelife,and until his last years, when his health failed, was one of its most diligent members. In 1562 he went to England to report to the Queen on Irish affairs. In 1565,after the long-standing feud between Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond and Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond haderupted into the conflictknown as the Battle of Affane, Plunket was entrusted, togetherwith the Lord Justice of Ireland,Sir Nicholas Arnold, with holding an inquiry intothe causes of the dispute, and in 1567 heoversaw theconfiscation of certain of the Desmond properties. He was knighted the same year.

During the cess controversy, wherealmost all of the landowners of the Pale objected to the taxationreforms proposed bytheLord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, Plunket was almost alone in supporting Sidney, and earned his gratitude as a result (although Sidney privately admitted thathe was concerned aboutPlunket'sfitness for office,inview of hisage and failing health). Successive administrations praised Plunket'sdiligence and incorruptibility. However,fromabout 1577complaintswere increasinglymade abouthis unfitness for office due tohis great age and ill health: "an old man, and evil able to attend his place with diligence.

He remained in office until his death, by which time he was well into his 80s, and said to be infirmand blind. Although his third marriage to the much-married Jenet Sarsfield(who had already buried four husbands,and would marry one more time)seems to have been happy enough, he was troubled by a long lawsuit between Jenet and her stepson Edward Cusack. Not surprisingly he took his wife's sidein the dispute and was accused by Edward of corruption as a result, to which charge he indignantly replied that he had served the Queen uprightly since the beginning of her reign and had neverin his life written anything but thetruth.

After a long decline in health, he died in 1582. In his willhe noted that the money which Jenet had brought him made him "none the richer"; however he lists among his valuables an impressive collection of silver.He was noted for charitable works:he built two chapels, and a room over a local mineral spring.One of the chapels contains a carving on which the initials of Johnand Jenet are visible. Although he was outwardly a member of the Church of Ireland, (his sister, Margaret, married John Garvey,Archbishop of Armagh),he is said to have practised the Roman Catholic faith in private.

Plunket married firstly Elizabeth Preston;secondly Catherine, sister of Sir Thomas Luttrell;and thirdly Jenet Sarsfield. All his children were from his marriage to Catherine Luttrell. They were:

• James, who married Catherine FitzWilliam, daughter of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Merrion Castle; after his death she remarried Christopher Preston, 4th Viscount Gormanston, and died in 1602;
• Robert, who married Anne Plunket;
• Alice, who married Richard Netterville, and died in 1607;
• Janet who married firstly Thomas Marward, titular Baron Skryne, and secondly Nicholas Nugent;
• Anne, who married Wiliam Bermingham;
• an unnamed daughter who married Barnaby Skurlock.

James predeceased him and Dunsoghly passed to his grandson Sir Christopher Plunket.

Plunket was a popular and respected figure, known as "good Sir John Plunket", and he seems to havehad remarkably few enemies. Despite the attack on his probityby Edward Cusack he was much praised for his integrity. Only in his last years was he criticised for clinging to office when he was clearly unfit for it. A certain arrogance about his family's lineage was considered to be one of his few faults.