Christopher Delahide

Christopher Delahide (died 1534) was an Irish judge of the reign of Henry VIII, notable for his opposition to the ruling Geraldine faction in Irish politics.[1]

He belonged to the prominent landowning family of Moyglare, County Meath.[1]He was a cousin of Richard Delahide, for many years Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.[1]Richard, like many public officials, belonged to the Geraldine faction, headed by Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, who for decades enjoyed such power that they were called "the uncrowned Kings of Ireland". Christopher on the other hand belonged to the opposing Butler faction, headed by the Earl of Ormond.[2] He publicly denounced the perceived misrule of Ireland by the Geraldines, and his hostility to the dominant faction in Irish politics no doubt explains why his attempt to become second justice of the Court of Common Pleas was blocked in 1528.[1]

By 1533 the power of the Geraldines was beginning to decline, and a reshuffle of the senior judiciary saw Christopher appointed to the Bench as second justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland), apparently at the instigation of the Butler dynasty,[2] as a direct rebuff to the Earl of Kildare.[2] However Christopher seems to have died after only a year in office.[1]