Background
He was the second son of Sir Simon Bradstreet, 1st Baronet of Kilmainham, Dublin and his wife Ellen Bradstreet, daughter of his uncle Samuel Bradstreet of County Kilkenny.
He was the second son of Sir Simon Bradstreet, 1st Baronet of Kilmainham, Dublin and his wife Ellen Bradstreet, daughter of his uncle Samuel Bradstreet of County Kilkenny.
He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and was then called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1758, becoming King"s Counsel in 1767.
His independence of mind gave rise to the rather misleading nickname "Slippery Sam". In 1766, he became Recorder of Dublin. Ironically like several of his colleagues Bradstreet as a politician had opposed increasing the number of High Court judges: Elrington Ball remarked cynically that an increase in the salary and a guarantee of security of tenure soon convinced him of the error of his ways.
He prided himself on independence of mind.
According to Ball his nickname "Slippery Sam" did not mean that he was untrustworthy but rather that no party could count on his support. He was described as firm and decisive in character, rough in manner, and enormously fat (Chief Justice Scott flippantly called him "the double man").
Bradstreet died at his seat in Booterstown in County Dublin.
Bradstreet entered the Irish House of Commons as Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Dublin City in 1776, representing the constituency until 1784, when he was appointed Fourth Justice at the Court of King"s Bench (Ireland).
He was a good and frequent speaker in Parliament: though loosely associated with the Irish Patriot Party he clashed on occasion with Henry Grattan, and claimed that the liberties granted by the Constitution of 1782 were insufficient.