to sit alone in the Common Pleas. He was also a Governor of the Erasmus Smith schools. His reputation for mercy towards wrongdoers did not extend to those charged with cattle theft, which was regarded as a serious social evil at the time: in such cases, he was prepared to drive hard for a conviction. In the leading case of R. v Cavenagh in 1689, he broke with all precedent in refusing to allow two convicted cattle thieves to plead benefit of clergy for a first offence. Both were hanged. Dismissal and death During the politically turbulent years 1688–1691, Keating was in a particularly difficult position since unlike some of his colleagues he was very anxious to retain office. During James II's first year in Ireland, Keating showed himself to be a staunch loyalist, praying publicly for the King and referring to the Glorious Revolution as an "invasion". James was seemingly impressed, and Keating was given a prominent place in the opening of the Patriot Parliament of 1689; yet within days, his enemies had him dismissed from the Privy Council of Ireland He is also said to have resented being required to accept Catholic judges as colleagues on the Court of Common Pleas, despite his usual tolerance in matters of religion. The collapse of the Jacobite cause in the following year placed Keating in an impossible position, which explains his frequently puzzling behaviour. He could not seriously have expected to be allowed to keep his office, yet he undoubtedly made friendly advances to the new administration, possibly with the help of his brother-in-law Colonel Cusack, who played a part in negotiating the Treaty of Limerick. These advances met with a cold reception: Keating was dismissed from office, imprisoned for a time and threatened with impeachment. He committed suicide early in 1691, probably in a fit of depression,but (against the normal rules in such cases) was permitted a Christian burial in Palmerstown churchyard, where his wife and parents are also buried. Marriage In 1659 he married Grace Holte, daughter of the prominent landowner and Royalist Sir Thomas Holte of Aston Hall by his first wife Grace Bradbourne, and widow of Sir Richard Shuckburgh (1595-1656). Grace died in 1677; Keating erected a memorial to her in Palmerstown Chapel, Dublin, with an inscription paying eloquent testimony to their happy marriage. He erected a similar memorial at her other family's parish church in Lower