James Macartney (died 1727)

Historians have criticised the credulity he displayed at the Islandmagee witchcraft trials of 1711, which were the last such trials to be held in Ireland.^[6] Eight women were charged with bewitching a young woman called Mary Dunbar; in noted contrast to his colleague Mr Justice Upton, who called them women of blameless life and devout churchgoers, and urged the jury to acquit them, Macartney urged the jury to convict, which they duly did. On the other hand, since in theory witchcraft was a capital crime, the sentence he imposed of a year's imprisonment with four sessions in the pillory was relatively lenient.^[7]

Despite much criticism of his conduct at the Islandmagee trials, he was later spoken of twice as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, but was passed over. He retired from the Bench in 1726 and died in London the following year.^[8]

Macartney married firstly Frances, daughter of Sir Anthony Irby and Catherine Paget, who died in 1684, and secondly Alice, daughter of Sir James Cuffe and his wife Alice Aungier, sister of Francis Aungier, 1st Earl of Longford, by whom he had a son, James Macartney junior. Alice died on 7 October 1725. Their descendants included the poet Frances Greville (née Macartney) and her daughter, the noted political hostess Frances Anne Crewe.^[9]

Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Mark Talbot	Member of Parliament for Belfast 1692–1703 With: George Macartney 1692–95 Charles Chichester 1695–1703	Succeeded by William Crafford William Cairnes