The Howleys were Roman Catholic merchants from Limerick city (according to family tradition they moved there from Connacht) who prospered in business.
[2] He was also appointed Chairman of the Quarter Sessions for County Tipperary, a position which was normally given to a practising barrister with no other official post.
However, he claimed that his fellow magistrates gave him no support, and indeed actively thwarted him, as they themselves were responsible for creating the factions which led to the feuds.
[3] He was severely criticised for "legal pluralism": some of the attacks on him may reflect an objection by conservative Protestants to the increasing number of Roman Catholic judges and Law Officers, but other attacks simply reflect the fact that he was not highly regarded as a lawyer.
This appears to have been in the nature of a "consolation prize", and a recognition that at the age of seventy-six, he could not expect to advance further in his career.