Sir William Davys (before 1633 – 1687) was an Irish barrister and judge who held the offices of Recorder of Dublin, Prime Serjeant and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
He was suspected of Roman Catholic sympathies and was threatened with removal from the bench as a result, but he succeeded in retaining office until his death, due largely to his influential family connections.
The father has been described as a remarkable man who during his long career was able to work amicably with Viceroys as different in character as Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, Henry Cromwell, and James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.
Whether it was made for love or for social advancement, the marriage offended both his father-in-law Archbishop Boyle (although Elizabeth was his cousin through her mother) and the FitzGeralds, who were engaged in a lawsuit with the Ormonde family, which came before Davys as Chief Justice.
[7] On the accession of James II, it was widely rumoured that Davys would be removed from office; he was ageing, and "much impaired by the gout"[7] and had quarrelled with many of his influential friends and relatives.
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London as a traitor, escaped to find his long-estranged wife Lady Elizabeth Spencer, and at last consummated their marriage, only to be arrested by her outraged family.
The affair caused a furore, but fortunately, King William III took the matter lightly, and granted Lady Davys' request that her son and daughter-in-law be allowed to go into exile in Germany.
[9] Elrington Ball believed that whatever Davys' good qualities, he owed his advancement to his father's high reputation as a public servant and to the friendship of Ormonde.