He sat in the Irish House of Commons for many years, where he was often called on to speak for the Government, and held the office of Serjeant-at-law (Ireland).
At the Restoration of Charles II his Cromwellian past was not held against him: he was confirmed in the numerous grants of land he had received in Wexford and in County Meath, including Dungulf and Mulrankin.
He became a respected local politician, serving as MP for Taghmon 1661-6 and High Sheriff of Wexford 1680-81.
Government Law Officers, including the Serjeants, then were strictly political appointments, and Cliffe as a Tory, in common with virtually all of the Irish judges and Law Officers, was summarily dismissed on the accession of George I in 1714.
He married Barbara Carr, eldest daughter of William Carr of Cork city in 1694, and they had sixteen children, including John, the eldest son and heir, Barbara, Mary and Ellinor (died 1745).