Patrick White (judge)
Sir Patrick White ( 1480-1561) was an Irish politician, landowner and judge, who was notable for his forty-year tenure on the Irish Bench, much of which was spent as second Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He founded a dynasty who were Lords of the Manor of Dufferin, County Down, for several generations, although they were forced to abandon Dufferin for some years due to local disturbances. Career. He was born in Flemington, near Navan in County Meath. He is said to have come from a long-established landowning family, with connections to Dufferin in  County Down, though little is known of his parents or his early life. He was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer in 1521, and apart from a short period on the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) he served on the Court of Exchequer until his death. He was one of the original lessees of the King's Inns in 1541. He became a member of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1533, and was knighted. John Rawson, the last Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem at Kilmainham, and later Viscount Clontarf, was one of the handful  of men who dominated the Privy Council. White is known to have been close to him, and married his younger son Rowland to Rawson's natural daughter Catherine, a marriage which is said to have greatly increased the White family fortune in the short term. Like most of his fellow judges he was enriched by the Dissolution of the Monasteries; he obtained lands at Clontarf which had belonged to the Order of St John (which was dissolved in 1541), possibly at Lord Clontarf's suggestion. He also held lands at Rathsallagh in County Wicklow, had extensive landholdings in Meath, and  became lord of the manor of Dufferin in County Down. He died in 1561, while still serving on the Court of Exchequer. His son Rowland was a Protestant convert, and a sincere if unorthodox religious reformer, who was regarded with suspicion by the Catholic Queen Mary I. Patrick on the other hand seems to have adhered to the Roman Catholic faith, even in his last years when the Protestant Elizabeth I was on the throne. Family. He married twice: little is known of his first wife. His second wife was Alison St Lawrence, daughter of Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron  Howth by his third wife Alison Fitzsimon, and widow of John Netterville. He had at least three children: