Lucas Dillon

Sir Lucas Dillon (died 1593), also called Luke, was a leading Irish barrister and judge of the Elizabethan era who held the offices of Attorney General for Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. He supported the Lord Deputy Henry Sidney in the cess controversy and the Lord Deputy John Perrot in the Desmond Rebellions. He was held in high regard by Queen Elizabeth, but was accused by his enemies of corruption and maladministration. Birth and origins Lucas was born in 1529 or 1530, the eldest son of Sir Robert Dillon and his wife Genet (also called Elizabeth) Barnewall. His father, called of Newtown, pursued a judicial career and would in 1558 become Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. His father's family was Old English and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who had come to Ireland with Prince John in 1185 during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. Lucas's mother was a younger daughter of Edward Barnewall of Crickstown. Her family also was Old English and descended from Michael de Berneval who had come to Ireland in the time of Henry II of England (12th century).