List of Escheators of Munster


This is a list of the Members of Parliament appointed as Resignation from the British [House of Commons|Escheator of Munster], a notional 'office of profit under the crown' which was used to resign from the Irish House of Commons, and after the Union 1800|Union], that of the United Kingdom.
The escheator was originally responsible for the administration of escheat, a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state.
The office was formerly substantive. It was founded in 1605, when the escheatorship for Ireland was divided among the provinces of Connaught, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster.

Substantive holders

  • 1746: William Austen

Members of the Irish House of Commons

Members of the United Kingdom House of Commons

After the Acts of Union 1800, the office was retained as a sinecure, without duties, and was also used for resignation from Parliamentary seats. John Hewson was appointed to the post by letters patent in 1825, 1830, 1837, and 1838. In the latter year, however, all of the Irish escheatorships were abolished by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.