Complex sentence: They had a long tradition of public service as judges, especially on the Court of Exchequer (Ireland); but they were stubbornly Roman Catholic in their religious beliefs and as a result their loyalty to the Crown was often suspect.
Split into simpler sentences: They had a long tradition of public service as judges, especially on the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). They were stubbornly Roman Catholic in their religious beliefs and as a result their loyalty to the Crown was often suspect.