Joseph Devonsher Jackson

Joseph Devonsher Jackson PC (23 June 1783 – 19 December 1857) was an Irish Conservative MP in the United Kingdom Parliament and subsequently a High Court Judge.

[1] He was the eldest son of Strettell Jackson of Peterborough, County Cork, a carrier by trade, and Mary Cossens.

As a young man, he was a passionate and evangelical Protestant, active in attempting to convert Roman Catholics to his own faith; but as a judge, he was notably free of religious bias, despite the Queen's fears that he would prove to be a bigoted Orangeman.

[1] Jackson was described as a "temperate" politician, but he was a reliable supporter of the Protestant monarchy, constitution and church as well as the Union between Great Britain and Ireland,[2] and a staunch opponent of Daniel O'Connell (who nicknamed him "Leather Lungs", due to his almost interminable speeches).

He lived at Sutton Castle, Howth, north of Dublin city, and also had an estate at Knockalisheen, County Cork, which was the subject of litigation after his death.