Francis Stoughton Sullivan



Francis Stoughton Sullivan (1715–1766) was an Irish lawyer, and Professor of Oratory and law professor at Trinity College Dublin.

Sullivan, a member of the Kerry O'Sullivan More family, was born in Galway and educated at Trinity College Dublin, graduating with a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1745. He was called to the Bar the following year. In 1750 he was appointed Professor of Laws in Trinity, in 1759 Professor of Oratory, and three years later the first Regius Professor of Feudal and English Law. He was especially noted for excellence in the latter fields, and lectures he gave at the university, including commentaries on Magna Carta, were posthumously published in a volume called An Historical Treatise on the Feudal Law, and the Constitution and Laws of England (1772).

Sullivan also had a great interest in Irish history and Irish manuscripts all his life, and employed native scribes in preparing editions of Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland) and the Annals of the Four Masters which never saw print. He died in Dublin on 1 March 1766. His son, William Francis Sullivan (1756–1830) served in the United States Navy, and published plays and poems.