Thomas Cusack (Irish judge)

Sir Thomas Cusack (also spelt Cusacke or Cusake) (1490–1571) was an

The Cusack family of Cushinstown were descended from Walter de Cusack, son of Sir Andrew Cusack of Gerrardstown, a leading judge and soldier in the early fourteenth century. An earlier John Cusack is recorded at Cushinstown in the 1380s: his daughter married Peter Hussey, Baron Galtrim. Nicholas Cusack, Bishop of Kildare 1279-99, was another member of the family.

Thomas had four younger brothers and seven sisters, including:

• Mary (Maria), a nun who became the last Abbess of Lismullen
• Anne, who married Thomas Finglas, son of Patrick Finglas, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and had issue
• Johanna, who married Sir Garret Fleming, a close relative of Christopher Fleming, 8th Baron Slane
• Catherine, who married Nicholas Wafer, a retainer of
  assassins of Archbishop John Alen^[2]
• Thomasine, who married Christopher Dowdall of County Louth, and was the mother of James Dowdall. James, a future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland was a favourite of his uncle Thomas, who encouraged him to pursue a legal career.^[3]

Dangan Castle, the ancestral home of Thomas Cusack's mother, Alison de Wellesley

Early career

Little is known of his life until he entered the Inner Temple in 1522: he became Master of the Revels there in 1524.^[4] He married his first wife Joan Hussey in about 1515.

The Rebellion of

Like most ambitious Irishmen of the time, he relied on the patronage of Thomas Cromwell, who was then the most powerful minister at the English Court, to further his own career; he lobbied Cromwell for the Irish Chancellorship of the Exchequer, and on payment of £10 (a large sum at the time), he received the office in 1533. In 1534 when a vacancy opened on the Court of Common Pleas, he again lobbied for the office, with the assistance of his wealthy cousin Lady Neville, who spent £100 in bribes (then a considerable amount) to obtain the office for him.^[4]

Despite his use of bribery to gain office, Cusack was highly regarded as a judge: O'Flanagan^[5] praises his practical common sense, his ability to discern the truth of any case and his minute attention to detail. He showed no prejudice against Irish-speaking plaintiffs, and gained a reputation on the Bench for integrity and moderation.

Politician

His first term as a judge lasted for less than a year: he was summarily dismissed from the Bench, apparently following a quarrel with Cromwell.

He entered the

The

After Maud's death, Cusack became the fourth husband of the much-married Jenet Sarsfield. Though it was clearly not a love marriage (Jenet showed a keen interest in securing as much of the Cusack family property as possible, while her husband needed her money to pay off his heavy debts) it seems to have been reasonably happy. However a bitter feud developed between Jenet and her stepson Edward, and Thomas' will, which left Lismullen Abbey to his widow, led to years of litigation between the two.^[12] Cussington passed to John, Thomas' grandson by his first marriage. Jenet died in 1598, having made two further marriages. Edward Cusack was convicted of treason in 1582 along with Nicholas Nugent, but received a full pardon.

Descendants

By his first wife, Thomas had three children, of whom one predeceased him. The Trevet effigy states that he and Maud had thirteen children, of whom three seem to have predeceased him. Of his sixteen children, eight can be identified with certainty:

• Robert, second Baron of the Exchequer (died 1570), who married Katherine Nugent (possibly a second marriage) and had at least seven children including John Cusack of Cussington, Fr Christopher Cusack, founder of the Irish College, Douai, and Elizabeth, mother of Fr Patrick Fleming
• Edward (died 1596) of Lismullen, who married Elizabeth Aylmer and had at least six children, including Richard, his heir, James, a leading member of
  Admiralty Court (died 1610), secondly Christopher Nugent, a younger brother of Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath, and thirdly, before 1637, Valerian Wellesley^[13]
• John
• Catherine (died 1598), who married firstly Sir Henry Colley and secondly William Eustace of Castlemartin
• Mary, who married Theobald Butler, 1st Baron Cahir and had seven children
• Alice, who married Sir Christopher Bellew of Bellewstown
• Margaret, who married Murrough McDermot O'Brien, 3rd Baron Inchiquin and had seven children
• Alison, who married Thomas Aylmer.

From Catherine Cusack and her first husband, Henry Colley descended the Colley family who acquired the title

The Cusack-Smith baronets of Tuam were also descended in the female line from Sir Thomas.

Character

Despite his somewhat troubled private life, his willingness to acquire monastic lands, his use of bribery to gain office, and one allegation early in his career of embezzlement of Crown funds, Thomas Cusack is generally judged to have been one of the finest public servants of his time. A modern writer^[14] calls him "one of the most loyal and respected political figures in Ireland" in his time.

References