Patrick Barnewall (Solicitor General)

Patrick Barnewall (c. 1500–1552) was a leading figure in the Irish Government of the 1530s and 1540s, due to his close links with Thomas Cromwell. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, and held the offices of Solicitor General for Ireland and Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Today he is mainly remembered for his role in founding the King's Inns. He belonged to a junior branch of the family of Lord Trimlestown: his own descendants held the title Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland.

He was the eldest son of Roger Barnewall, of the Kingsland branch of the well-known Barnewall family; Roger had married his cousin Alison, sister of John Barnewall, 3rd Baron Trimlestown, later Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Patrick's choice of a legal career no doubt owed something to his uncle's example; he is also said to have been greatly influenced by his brother-in-law Thomas Luttrell, later Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. His most important political connection was Thomas Cromwell, whom he probably met in London in the 1520s. Patrick was at Grays Inn in 1527, and is known to have taken part in the legal debates there. He returned to Ireland soon afterwards to practice at the Irish Bar.

His appointments as King's Sergeant and Solicitor General in 1534 were largely due to the patronage of Cromwell, who actively promoted the careers of Barnewall and his brother-in -law Luttrell, and recommended Barnewall in particular for high office as being a man of "integrity and learning". His main rivals for power were the Cowleys, whose loyalty was to the Earl of Ormond. In 1535 Barnewall obtained the lucrative posts of Collector of Customs for Dublin and Drogheda, only to lose them to Walter and Robert Cowley. Walter also aimed for Barnewall's other offices, and in 1536 Barnewall went so far as to write an abject letter to Cromwell offering to surrender them. In the event a new office of Principal Solicitor for Ireland was created for Cowley; Barnewall retained his seniority and his influence. By his own account he was heavily involved in arguing lawsuits on behalf of the Crown before the Lord Chancellor, but there is evidence that his other duties made attendance in Court difficult: in 1537 John Bolter, a goldsmith, complained to Cromwell that his own case before the Lord Chancellor was being adjourned from one law term to the next at Barnewall's request. He sat in the Irish House of Commons as member for Dublin County in the Parliament of 1536-7: despite his heavy obligations to the Crown, he initially opposed the Protestant Reformation.

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