People, Place and Power – The Grand Jury System in Ireland

12 An account of the appointment of the Leitrim Grand Jury in March 1828 suggests a dignified and solemn occasion, with twenty-three jurymen being chosen from its fifty-seven strong grand panel (Fig. 3). Notable names abound on the panel, including the two sitting MPs for the county, Viscount Clements and Samuel White, former MPs, John M. Clements and Peter LaTouche, and Viscount Forbes, MP for Longford; and an array of baronets and gentlemen. MPs were expected to serve on the grand jury, and the position of jury foreman was often filled by an MP or a peer. Fig. 3. The Roscommon and Leitrim Grand Panels and Grand Juries, spring 1828. Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette, 15 March 1828, p. 3.