Sir Richard Nagle
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The Right Honourable Sir Richard Nagle PC |
|
|---|---|
| Attorney-General for Ireland | |
|
In office 1686–1691 |
|
| Monarch | James II |
| Preceded by | Sir William Domville |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Temple |
| Speaker of the Irish House of Commons | |
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In office May 1689 – 20 July 1689 |
|
| Monarch | James II |
| Preceded by | Sir Audley Mervyn |
| Succeeded by | Richard Levinge |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Richard Nagle 1636 Carrigacunna Castle, Killavullen, Ireland |
| Died | 6 April 1699 |
| Resting place | Saint-Germain, France |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Kearney |
| Alma mater | Gray's Inn |
| Occupation | Politician, lawyer |
Sir Richard Nagle (1636 – 6 April 1699) was an Irish politician and lawyer. He held the positions of Attorney-General for Ireland, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, Lord Justice of Ireland and Secretary of State and War for Ireland under King James II. He fled to France in 1691, joining James II at Saint Germain, where he resumed his duties as nominal Secretary of State and War. He later served as Commissioner of the Household.
Richard was born into an Old English family at Carrigacunna Castle, in County Cork, the son of James Nagle of Annakissy, and James' wife, Honora Nugent. This was his family's seat. His brother Pierce was a future High Sheriff of Cork. Although Richard was initially destined to join the clergy, he was educated in law at Gray's Inn and was called to the bar in Dublin. "Active and skillful", he had a successful career as a lawyer.The Earl of Tyrconnell brought Richard to England with him in 1685 to meet James II. James created him Attorney-General for Ireland and knighted him in 1686. He also appointed him to the Privy Council of Ireland.
As an MP for Cork, Nagle was elected Speaker by the Irish House of Commons in 1689. This parliament is known to posterity as the "Patriot Parliament". It spurned the outcome of the Glorious Revolution, recognising King James's divine right to the Irish crown over William of Orange's parliamentary one. William, made King of England during the revolution, was set on conquering Ireland from James, and to achieve that end he launched the Williamite War. Richard was diametrically opposed to the Act of Settlement 1662 (he was the author of A Letter from Coventry, an anti-settlement pamphlet), which had punished royalists and Catholics who had fought against parliament in the Civil Wars; he unsuccessfully advocated its repeal in this session.
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