Warden Flood

Who was Warden Flood?

Warden Flood was an Irish judge who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, but is mainly remembered as the natural father of the statesman Henry Flood.

He was born at Burnchurch in County Kilkenny, son of Francis Flood and Anne Warden. He was educated at Kilkenny College and the University of Dublin, taking his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1714. He entered Middle Temple in 1716 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1720.

He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1741, Attorney-General for Ireland in 1751, and in 1760 was appointed chief justice of the King's Bench. He acted as a judge of assize and was briefly Speaker of the Irish House of Lords. He became the Member of Parliament for Callan in 1727. He had a house at Cuffe Street in Dublin and at Farmley in Kilkenny.

His nephew, also Warden Flood, was MP for Longford Borough, Baltinglass, Carysfort, and Taghmon.

He had several children by Isabella Whiteside, but whether they were legally married is doubtful; his most famous child, the statesman Henry Flood, who appears to have been Isabella's son, was generally said to have been born out of wedlock.