Henry Burnell

Who is Henry Burnell?

Henry Burnell was an Irish judge and politician; he was briefly Recorder of Dublin and a justice of the Court of King's Bench. Though he was willing to accept Crown office, he spent much of his career in opposition to the Government. He was one of the leaders of the protest against the taxation policies of Sir Henry Sidney in the late 1570s, and as a member of the Irish House of Commons in the 1580s successfully opposed Sir John Perrot. In the early 1600s he was one of the leaders of the protest against strict enforcement of the Penal Laws. His professional reputation was damaged in his last years when he was fined for having altered a deed concerning the Earl of Kildare's will. He was the grandfather of the playwright Henry Burnell.