Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore

Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore PC (1766 – 21 April 1840) from Cahir Guillamore, County Limerick, served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for Ireland for a number of years. He was created Viscount Guillamore by a patent of 28 January 1831.

He was brother to Hayes O'Grady, who became an Admiral in the Royal Navy, and uncle to the Irish antiquarian Standish Hayes O'Grady.

He was the eldest son of Darby O'Grady of Mount Prospect, Limerick, and of Mary, daughter of James Smyth of the same county. He was born on 20 Jan. 1766, and, entering Trinity College, Dublin, graduated B.A. in 1784. He was called to the bar, and went on the Munster circuit. He was remarkable for wit as well as learning, and attained considerable practice.^[1]

On 10 June 1803, after the murder of Lord Kilwarden, he became Attorney-General and was sworn to the Privy Council of Ireland.^[2] He was one of the prosecuting counsel at the trial of Robert Emmet. In October 1805 he was made Lord Chief Baron,^[2] in succession to Lord Avonmore. He was a sound judge, and Chief Baron Pigot, of the Irish exchequer, expressed the opinion: ‘O'Grady was the ablest man whose mind I ever saw at work.’ His witticisms on and off the bench were long remembered.^[3] O'Grady was one of the first to suspect the duplicity of Leonard McNally.

On his retirement from the bench in 1831, he was created Viscount Guillamore of Cahir Guillamore and Baron O'Grady of Rockbarton, co. Limerick, in the peerage of Ireland. He was a handsome man , of a fine presence, and over six feet in stature. He died in Dublin on 20 April 1840. In 1790 he married Katharine (d. 1853), second daughter of John Thomas Waller of Castletown, co. Limerick, by whom he had several children , the 7th son being Thomas O'Grady.

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