Edward Willes (1702 – June 1768) was an English-born judge in eighteenth-century Ireland, who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.
Sir John Willes, the long-serving Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was his second cousin and encouraged him in his choice of a legal career.
Elrington Ball praises Willes as a good lawyer, and as a man who was honest, highly intelligent, a natural scholar and a much-loved figure in private life .
[4] Hart gives a similar verdict, stating that Willes was an intelligent and sensitive man and an acute observer of Irish society and politics.
[3] Despite his many good qualities he has been judged harshly for his severity towards Roman Catholics and his determination to resist any relaxation of the Penal laws.