Garrett Dillon
Garrett (or Gerard or Gerald) Dillon (c.1640-c.1696) was an Irish judge, politician and soldier, who held the office of Recorder of Dublin. He is mainly remembered today as one of the signatories of the Treaty of Limerick, which he helped to negotiate. The refusal of the Irish Parliament to ratify the Treaty led to his downfall. He fled abroad and died in exile in France. Background He was born in County Westmeath, the son of Theobald Dillon of Portlick Castle and his wife Marcella Browne. Theobald was the son of Garrett Dillon of Feamore, County Mayo, a cousin of Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon. Portlick had been in the Dillon family for centuries. The younger Garrett inherited both Feamore and Portlick, and acquired other estates in Westmeath, Roscommon and Mayo. All his estates were forfeited in the 1690s. His eldest son Theobald held on to some of the family estates, but not Portlick Castle, which was acquired by the Smyth family, who lived there until 1955. The castle is still in private ownership. Career He entered Gray's Inn in 1669, and was called to the Irish Bar in 1674. He built up a flourishing practice on the Connacht circuit. The Roman Catholic King James II of England, who succeeded to the throne in 1685, adopted a policy of appointing as many Catholics as possible to high office. Dillon was described as a "furious" (i.e. passionate) Catholic and was in favour with the King as a result: yet he also had Protestant friends and was described as a man suitable for Crown service, as he was "a very fit man for office, and we should not omit the best". His rise to high office was rapid: he became King's Counsel and Recorder of Dublin in 1685, and Prime Serjeant in 1687. In the so-called Patriot Parliament of 1689 he sat in the Irish House of Commons as member for Mullingar. On the outbreak of the Williamite War, he entered the armed service on King James's side and was made a colonel. The Treaty of Limerick and afterwards After the defeat of the Jacobite cause, the new King William III of England was anxious to conciliate as many of his former opponents as possible. One result of this policy was the negotiation of the Treaty of Limerick, which was strictly speaking two treaties, one military and one civil. Dillon (who had been dismissed from all his political offices) was one of the three lawyers, the others being John Brown and Sir Toby Butler, who negotiated the civil articles on behalf of the defeated Jacobite side, although Butler is believed to have done most of the hard work. The Treaty articles were signed by Dillon and his colleagues on 3 October 1691. The terms were surprisingly generous to the defeated side. In particular, the Treaty provided that those Jacobites who swore an oath of loyalty to the new regime who be permitted to retain their lands. Unfortunately for the Jacobites, the Parliament of