Background
He was the younger son of Sir William Cusack-Smith, 2nd Baronet, Baron of the Exchequer and his wife Hester Berry, and grandson of Sir Michael Smith, 1st Baronet, Master of the Rolls in Ireland from 1801 to 1806.
Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom
He was the younger son of Sir William Cusack-Smith, 2nd Baronet, Baron of the Exchequer and his wife Hester Berry, and grandson of Sir Michael Smith, 1st Baronet, Master of the Rolls in Ireland from 1801 to 1806.
He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.
He was nicknamed "TBC Smith" or "Alphabet Smith". He entered Lincoln"s Inn in 1817 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1819. He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland briefly in 1842, and then Attorney-General for Ireland from 1842 until 1846, in which role he prosecuted Daniel O"Connell.
His conduct of the trial attracted severe criticism, and the House of Lords later quashed the guilty verdict for gross irregularities.
He became Master of the Rolls in Ireland in 1846, holding that office until his death, which occurred at Blairgowrie and Rattray in Scotland. Like his father he had a reputation for eccentricity and bad temper: during the trial of Daniel O"Connell he challenged one of the opposing counsel, Gerald Fitzgibbon, to a duel, for having allegedly accused him of acting from "private and dishonourable motives".
The judges, gravely embarrassed, strongly criticised Cusack-Smith for his actions and persuaded him to drop the matter. His frequent outbursts of bad temper were often attributed to chronic indigestion.
An admirer described him as having "a touch of genius" but admitted he was rough and harsh in manner.
Charles Gavan Duffy described him as "dignified" but so unhealthy and ghastly in appearance as to resemble "an owl in daylight". Daniel O"Connell called him "the vinegar cruet".
14th United Kingdom Parliament]
He was a Member of Parliament for Ripon from 1843 to 1846.