[1] He acquired, as his patron, Philip Tisdall (the immensely influential Attorney General for Ireland) who called him "the most promising of the rising young men".

[2] He resigned the office in 1779, in protest at the continuing restrictions on free trade, after making his celebrated speech "England has sown her laws as dragon's teeth".

A month later, in July 1782 he was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, but he died the following year while holding the assizes in Armagh, reportedly from gaol fever.

[4] His principal fault, it was generally agreed, was his extravagance: he lived in considerable state, and liked to be driven to Court in a carriage with six horses and three outriders.

As a result of his improvidence, his early death left his children in serious financial difficulty, until Henry Grattan persuaded the House of Commons to vote them a pension.