Sir William Parsons, one of the Lord Justices of Ireland at the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Illustration from the History of Ulster published 1919. After engraving by S Paul. Info from wiki: Sir William represented Wicklow County in the Irish House of Commons in 1639, and was nominated Lord Justice with Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon in 1640; but that nobleman being soon removed, he was resworn with Sir John Borlace, master of the ordnance. The downfall of Strafford ruined those members of the Irish administration who had been close to him, but Parsons, who had quarreled with Stafford over a land deal, was clearly identified as one of his enemies, and Strafford's fall strengthened his position in the short term. When the Irish Rebellion of 1641 broke out, Parsons had to cope with it virtually single-handed, since his colleague Borlace was old and incompetent. His management of the crisis has been much criticised, in particular his habit of dealing with the English Parliament directly without informing King Charles I. His enemies accused him of inflaming, or even provoking the Rebellion, as a pretext for a second and more thorough conquest of Ireland. Certainly he argued that the Rebellion must be crushed ruthlessly, and rejected all attempts at compromise. He continued in the government until 1643, when he was removed, charged with treason, and committed to prison, with Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and others. He was quickly released, but complained bitterly of this "poor reward" for his "zealous and painful toil on behalf of the Crown".
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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