Curran, John Philpot (1750-1817), barrister and orator. Born in Newmarket, Co. Cork, he was educated in TCD and the Middle Temple. As an MP in the Irish Parliament (1783-97) he spoke in favour of Catholic Emancipation, resigning in disgust at the corrupt measures used to pass the Act of Union. He defended several United Irishmen. In the aftermath of the 1803 rising of Robert Emmet—to whom his daughter Sarah (Curran) was secretly engaged—he defended some of the accused, though not Emmet himself. A lyric, ‘The Deserter's Meditation’ has been much anthologized. His speeches have been reprinted frequently.

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