John Hely

Sir John Hely (born c. 1650 – died 7 April 1701) was an English-born judge in Ireland, who held office as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and who was also the founder of the prominent landowning Hely family of Foulkscourt Castle Johnstown County Kilkenny. The Helys are chiefly remembered for developing the village of Johnstown.

He was born in London, eldest son of James Hely. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1670 and was called to the Bar in 1679.

In 1685 he made an advantageous marriage to Meliora Gorges, daughter of the wealthy merchant Ferdinando Gorges of Eye Manor, Hertfordshire, and his wife Meliora Hilliard. Gorges had made a fortune in Barbados, although he ultimately lost much of it. Hely and Meliora had at least five children: their eldest son, George, was the founder of the Hely family of Foulkscourt Castle and Johnstown, County Kilkenny. They had at least two other sons, John and James: James was still a minor in 1717, when the three brothers were involved in a lawsuit against their uncle Henry Gorges.

Meliora's elder sister Barbara had married the rising young statesman Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby in 1675, and although Barbara's marriage to Thomas was notoriously unhappy, ending in divorce, Hely's rise to high office was almost certainly due to the Coningsby connection: Coningsby's biographer suggests that Hely was sent to Ireland to strengthen Coningsby's power base in Dublin.

He was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1690 on the recommendation of Coningsby, who had been appointed one of the Lord Justices (Ireland), thus giving him a considerable degree of control over the Irish administration for a time. Hely arrived in Ireland the following year, joined the King's Inns and was knighted in 1692. He held the office of Commissioner of Revenue Appeals at the same time.

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