Sir Thomas Lopdell O'Shaughnessy (22 December 1850 – 7 March 1933) was the last Recorder of Dublin

Recorder of Dublin

The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial position in Dublin, Ireland. The first to hold the position was James Stanihurst, speaker of the Irish parliament, in 1564 and the last was Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy. The Recordership was abolished in 1924....

 in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

.

Early life

O'Shaughnessy was born on December 22, 1850 in Dublin and died at his home in Fitzwilliam Square

Fitzwilliam Square

Fitzwilliam Square is a small but historic Georgian square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built....

, Dublin on March 7, 1933. Educated at Queens College Galway, he was called to the Irish Bar in 1874 and to the English Bar by Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 in 1894.

Legal career

O'Shaughnessy carried out his practice on the Connaught and North Eastern Circuit. He served as counsel to the Plaintiffs in relation to the disastrous rail accident during a school outing from Armagh

Armagh

Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

 to Newry

Newry

Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

. O'Shaughnessy won a great reputation from this trial, and took silk (an informal term for Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

) soon after. For fifteen years, he was one of the most influential, effective and well-paid barristers of the Dublin Four Courts

Four Courts

The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's main courts building. The Four Courts are the location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. The building until 2010 also formerly was the location for the Central Criminal Court.-Gandon's Building:Work based on...

. He was sworn in as Recorder of Dublin in 1905. He would be the last to hold this position, a role which stretched back to James Stanihurst

James Stanihurst

James Stanihurst was for three terms Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. He was also the first to hold the position of Recorder of Dublin.-Life:...

 in 1564. The Recordership was abolished in 1924 and O'Shaughnessy became a judge in the High Court of the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

. He resigned in 1925 and received a knighthood in 1927. He was a Bencher of the Kings Inns and was sworn in as a member of the Irish Privy Council in 1912. He was a member of the Reform Club

Reform Club

The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...

.