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Peerage of Ireland

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The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[note 1] It is one of the five divisions of Peerages in the United Kingdom. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. As of 2016, there were 135 titles in the Peerage of Ireland extant: two dukedoms, ten marquessates, 43 earldoms, 28 viscountcies, and 52 baronies. However, these titles have no official recognition in Ireland, with Article 40.2 of the Constitution of Ireland forbidding the state conferring titles of nobility and stating that an Irish citizen may not accept titles of nobility or honour except with the prior approval of the Irish government.[1]

In the following table, each peer is listed only by his highest Irish title, showing higher or equal titles in the other peerages. Those peers who are known by a higher title in one of the other peerages are listed in italics.

History

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William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster

A modest number of titles in the peerage of Ireland date from the Middle Ages. Before 1801, Irish peers had the right to sit in the Irish House of Lords, on the abolition of which by the Union effective in 1801 by an Act of 1800 they elected a small proportion – twenty-eight Irish representative peers – of their number (and elected replacements as they died) to the House of Lords at Westminster.

Both before and after the Union, Irish peerages were often used as a way of creating peerages which did not grant a seat in the House of Lords of England (before 1707) or Great Britain (after 1707) and so allowed the grantee (such as Clive of India) to sit in the House of Commons in London. As a consequence, many late-made Irish peers had little or no connection to Ireland, and indeed the names of some Irish peerages refer to places in Great Britain (for example, the Earldom of Mexborough refers to a place in England and the Earldom of Ranfurly refers to a village in Scotland).

Irish peerages continued to be created for almost a century after the union, although the treaty of union placed restrictions on their numbers: three needed to become extinct before a new peerage could be granted, until there were only one hundred Irish peers (exclusive of those who held any peerage of Great Britain subsisting at the time of the union, or of the United Kingdom created since the union). There was a spate of creations of Irish peerages from 1797 onward, mostly peerages of higher ranks for existing Irish peers, as part of the negotiation of the Act of Union; this ended in the first week of January 1801, but the restrictions of the Act were not applied to the last few peers. In the following decades, Irish peerages were created at least as often as the Act permitted until at least 1856.[2] But the pace then slowed, with only four more being created in the rest of the 19th century, and none in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The last two grants of Irish peerages were the promotion of the Marquess of Abercorn (a peerage of Great Britain) to be Duke of Abercorn in the Irish Peerage when he became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1868 and the granting of the Curzon of Kedleston barony to George Curzon when he became Viceroy of India in 1898. Peers of Ireland have precedence below peers of England, Scotland, and Great Britain of the same rank, and above peers of the United Kingdom of the same rank; but Irish peers created after 1801 yield to United Kingdom peers of earlier creation. Accordingly, the Duke of Abercorn (the junior duke in the Peerage of Ireland) ranks between the Duke of Sutherland and the Duke of Westminster (both dukes in the Peerage of the United Kingdom).

When one of the Irish representative peers died, the Irish Peerage met to elect his replacement; but the office required to arrange this were abolished as part of the creation of the Irish Free State. The existing representative peers kept their seats in the House of Lords, but they have not been replaced. Since the death of Francis Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey in 1961, none remains. The right of the Irish Peerage to elect representatives was abolished by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1971.

Titles in the Peerage of the United Kingdom have also referred to places in Ireland, for example Baron Arklow (created 1801 and 1881) or Baron Killarney (created 1892 and 1920). Since partition, only places in Northern Ireland have been used, although the 1880 title "Baron Mount Temple, of Mount Temple in the County of Sligo", was recreated in 1932 as "Baron Mount Temple, of Lee in the County of Southampton".

Ranks

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In the following table of the Peerage of Ireland as it currently stands, each peer's highest titles in each of the other peerages (if any) are also listed.

Irish peers possessed of titles in any of the other peerages (except Scotland, which only got the right to an automatic seat in 1963, with the Peerage Act 1963) had automatic seats in the House of Lords until 1999.

The Earl of Darnley inherited the Baron Clifton in the Peerage of England in 1722–1900 and 1937–1999 as the barony is in writ.

Country Peerage Years
 England England 1066–1707
 Scotland Scotland c. 1140–1707
 Ireland Ireland c. 1170–1922
 Great Britain Great Britain 1707–1801
 United Kingdom United Kingdom 1801–present

Dukes in the Peerage of Ireland

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Shield Title Creation Other Dukedom or higher titles
House of Lords titles
Monarch
 Kingdom of Ireland

The Duke of Leinster 26 November 1766 Kingdom of Great Britain Viscount Leinster 17471999 King George III
United Kingdom Baron Kildare 1870–1999
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The Duke of Abercorn 10 August 1868 Kingdom of Great Britain Marquess of Abercorn 17901999 Queen Victoria
Kingdom of Great Britain Viscount Hamilton 1786–1999

Marquesses in the Peerage of Ireland

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Shield Title Creation Other Marquessate or higher titles
House of Lords titles
Monarch
 Kingdom of Ireland

The Marquess of Kildare 3 March 1761 Duke of Leinster in Peerage of Ireland. King George III

The Marquess of Waterford 19 August 1789 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Tyrone 1786–1999

The Marquess of Downshire[3] 20 August 1789 Kingdom of Great Britain Earl of Hillsborough 1772–1999
Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Harwich 1756–1999
United Kingdom Baron Sandys Since 2013

The Marquess of Donegall[4] 4 July 1791 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Fisherwick 1790–1999
United Kingdom Baron Templemore 1975–1999

The Marquess of Headfort 29 December 1800 United Kingdom Baron Kenlis 1831–1999

The Marquess of Sligo 29 December 1800 United Kingdom Baron Monteagle 1806–1999

The Marquess of Ely 29 December 1800 United Kingdom Baron Loftus 1801–1999
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The Marquess Conyngham 1 January 1816 United Kingdom Baron Minster 1821–1999 The Prince Regent on behalf of King George III

The Marquess of Londonderry 13 January 1816 United Kingdom Earl Vane 1823–1999
United Kingdom Baron Stewart 1814–1999

Earls in the Peerage of Ireland

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  •   Subsidiary title.
Shield Title Creation Other Earldom or higher titles
House of Lords titles
Monarch
 Kingdom of Ireland

The Earl of Kildare 14 May 1316 Duke of Leinster in Peerage of Ireland. King Edward II

The Earl of Waterford 17 July 1446 Earl of Shrewsbury in the Peerage of England. King Henry VI

The Earl of Cork 26 October 1620 King James I

The Earl of Westmeath 4 September 1621

The Earl of Desmond 22 November 1622 Held by the Earl of Denbigh in the Peerage of England since 1675.

The Earl of Meath 16 April 1627 United Kingdom Baron Chaworth 1831–1999 King Charles I

The Earl of Donegall 30 March 1647 Marquess of Donegall in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Cavan 15 April 1647

The Earl of Orrery 5 September 1660 Held with Earl of Cork in the Peerage of Ireland since 1753. King Charles II
Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Boyle of Marston 1711–1999

The Earl of Drogheda 14 June 1661 United Kingdom Baron Moore 1954–1999

The Earl of Granard 30 December 1684 United Kingdom Baron Granard 1806–1999

The Earl of Kerry 17 January 1723 Marquess of Lansdowne in the Peerage of Great Britain. King George II

The Earl of Darnley 29 June 1725 Kingdom of England Baron Clifton 1937–1999

The Earl of Bessborough 6 October 1739 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Ponsonby 1749–1999
United Kingdom Baron Duncannon 1834–1999

The Earl of Tyrone 18 July 1746 Marquess of Waterford in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Carrick 10 June 1748 United Kingdom Baron Butler 1912–1999

The Earl of Hillsborough 6 October 1751 Marquess of Downshire in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Shelburne 6 June 1753 Marquess of Lansdowne in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The Earl of Shannon 17 April 1756 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Carleton 1786–1999

The Earl of Mornington 2 October 1760 Duke of Wellington in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Earl of Arran 12 April 1762 United Kingdom Baron Sudley 1884–1999 King George III

The Earl of Courtown 12 April 1762 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Saltersford 1796–1999

The Earl of Mexborough 11 February 1766

The Earl Winterton 12 February 1766

The Earl of Bective 24 October 1766 Marquess of Headfort in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Kingston 25 August 1768

The Earl of Roden 1 December 1771

The Earl of Altamont 4 December 1771 Marquess of Sligo in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Clanwilliam 20 January 1776 United Kingdom Baron Clanwilliam 1828–1999

The Earl of Lisburne 24 June 1776

The Earl of Antrim 19 June 1785

The Earl of Longford 20 June 1785 United Kingdom Baron Silchester 1821–1999
United Kingdom Baron Pakenham 1945–1999

The Earl of Portarlington 21 June 1785

The Earl of Mayo 24 June 1785

The Earl Annesley 7 August 1789

The Earl of Enniskillen 18 August 1789 United Kingdom Baron Grinstead 1815–1999

The Earl Erne 19 August 1789 United Kingdom Baron Fermanagh 1876–1999

The Earl of Ely 2 March 1794 Marquess of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Lucan 1 October 1795 United Kingdom Baron Bingham 1934–1974/1999

The Earl of Londonderry 8 August 1796 Marquess of Londonderry in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl Conyngham 5 November 1797 Marquess Conyngham in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl Belmore 20 November 1797

The Earl of Caledon 29 December 1800

The Earl Castle Stewart 29 December 1800

The Earl of Clanricarde 29 December 1800 Marquess of Sligo in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Earl of Donoughmore 29 December 1800 United Kingdom Viscount Hutchinson 1821–1999
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The Earl of Limerick 1 January 1803 United Kingdom Baron Worlingham 1815–1999 King George III

The Earl of Clancarty 11 February 1803 United Kingdom Viscount Clancarty 1823–1999
United Kingdom Baron Trench 1815–1999

The Earl of Gosford 1 February 1806 United Kingdom Baron Worlingham 1835–1999
United Kingdom Baron Acheson 1847–1999

The Earl of Rosse 3 February 1806

The Earl of Normanton 6 February 1806 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Mendip 1974–1999
United Kingdom Baron Somerton 1873–1999

The Earl of Kilmorey 5 February 1822 King George IV

The Earl of Listowel 5 February 1822 United Kingdom Baron Hare 1869–1999

The Earl of Norbury 23 June 1827

The Earl of Ranfurly 14 September 1831 United Kingdom Baron Ranfurly 1826–1999 King William IV

Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland

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  •   Subsidiary title.
Shield Title Creation Other Viscountcy or higher titles
House of Lords titles
Monarch
 Kingdom of Ireland

The Viscount Gormanston 7 August 1478 United Kingdom Baron Gormanston 1868–1999 King Edward IV

The Viscount Mountgarret 23 October 1550 United Kingdom Baron Mountgarret 1911–1999 King Edward VI

The Viscount Grandison 3 July 1620 Earl of Jersey in the Peerage of England. King James I

The Viscount Moore 7 February 1621 Earl of Drogheda in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Valentia 11 March 1622

The Viscount Dillon 16 March 1622

The Viscount Callan 22 November 1622 Earl of Denbigh in the Peerage of England.

The Viscount Chichester 1 April 1625 Marquess of Donegall in the Peerage of Ireland. King Charles I

The Viscount Kilmorey 18 April 1625 Earl of Kilmorey in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky 28 February 1627 Earl of Cork in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Lumley 12 July 1628 Earl of Scarbrough in the Peerage of England.

The Viscount Ikerrin 12 May 1629 Earl of Carrick in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Massereene 21 November 1660 King Charles II

The Viscount Cholmondeley 29 March 1661 Marquess of Cholmondeley in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Viscount Charlemont 8 October 1665

The Viscount Granard 29 June 1675 Earl of Granard in the Peerage of Ireland

The Viscount Downe 19 February 1681 United Kingdom Baron Dawnay 1897–1999

The Viscount Lisburne 29 June 1695 Earl of Lisburne in the Peerage of Ireland King William III

The Viscount Strabane 2 September 1701 Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland

The Viscount Molesworth 10 Jul 1716 King George I

The Viscount Chetwynd 29 June 1717

The Viscount Midleton 15 August 1717 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Brodrick 1796–1999

The Viscount Boyne 20 August 1717 United Kingdom Baron Brancepeth 1866–1999

The Viscount Hillsborough 29 May 1719 Marquess of Downshire in the Peerage of Ireland

The Viscount Grimston 29 May 1719 Earl of Verulam in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

The Viscount Gage 14 September 1720 Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Gage 1790–1999

The Viscount Tyrone 4 November 1720 Marquess of Waterford in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Clanmaurice 17 January 1722 Marquess of Lansdowne in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The Viscount Duncannon 28 February 1723 Earl of Bessborough in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Darnley 7 March 1723 Earl of Darnley in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Galway 17 July 1727 King George II

The Viscount Powerscourt 4 February 1743 United Kingdom Baron Powerscourt 1885–1999

The Viscount Ashbrook 30 September 1751

The Viscount Kilwarlin 3 October 1751 Marquess of Downshire in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Fitzmaurice 7 October 1751 Marquess of Lansdowne in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The Viscount Jocelyn 6 December 1755 Earl of Roden in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Sudley 15 August 1758 Earl of Arran in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Headfort 12 April 1762 Marquess of Headfort in the Peerage of Ireland. King George III

The Viscount Glerawly 14 November 1766 Earl Annesley in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Kingsborough 15 November 1766 Earl of Kingston in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Clanwilliam 17 November 1766 Earl of Clanwilliam in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Westport 24 August 1768 Marquess of Sligo in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Southwell 18 July 1776

The Viscount de Vesci 19 July 1776

The Viscount Enniskillen 20 July 1776 Earl of Enniskillen in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Carlow 24 July 1776 Earl of Portarlington in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Erne 6 January 1781 Earl Erne in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Lifford 8 January 1781

The Viscount Bangor 11 January 1781

The Viscount Mayo 13 January 1781 Earl of Mayo in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Gosford 20 June 1785 Earl of Gosford in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Doneraile 22 June 1785

The Viscount Belmore 6 December 1789 Earl Belmore in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Conyngham 6 December 1789 Marquess Conyngham in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Harberton 5 July 1791

The Viscount Northland 5 July 1791 Earl of Ranfurly in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Hawarden 5 December 1793

The Viscount Castle Stuart 20 December 1793 Earl Castle Stewart in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Loftus 2 March 1794 Marquess of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Castlereagh 1 October 1795 Marquess of Londonderry in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Mount Charles 5 November 1797 Marquess Conyngham in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Ferrard 22 November 1797 Held by with Viscount Massereene in the Peerage of Ireland since 1843.
United Kingdom Baron Oriel 1821–1999

The Viscount Caledon 23 November 1797 Earl of Caledon in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Donoughmore 20 December 1797 Earl of Donoughmore in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Dunlo 29 December 1800 Earls of Clancarty in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Somerton 29 December 1800 Earl of Normanton in the Peerage of Ireland.
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The Viscount Monck 5 January 1801 United Kingdom Baron Monck 1866–1999 King George III

The Viscount Lorton 28 May 1806 Earl of Kingston in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Viscount Ennismore and Listowel 15 January 1816 Earl of Listowel in the Peerage of Ireland. The Prince Regent on behalf of King George III

The Viscount Gort 16 January 1816


Barons in the Peerage of Ireland

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In Ireland, barony may also refer to a semi-obsolete political subdivision of a county. There is no connection between such a barony and the noble title of baron.

  •   Subsidiary title.
Shield Title Creation Other Barony or higher titles
House of Lords titles
Monarch
 Kingdom of Ireland

The Lord Kingsale 1397 King Edward III

The Lord Dunsany 1439 King Henry VI

The Lord Dunboyne 1541 King Henry VIII

The Lord Louth 1541

The Lord Inchiquin 1543

The Lord Digby 1620 Sat as Lord Digby in the Peerage of Great Britain in House of Lords from 1765–1999. King James I

The Lord Conway and Killultagh 1712 Marquess of Hertford in the Peerage of Great Britain;
Lord Conway in the Peerage of England
.
King George I

The Lord Newborough 1715 Marquess of Cholmondeley in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Lord Carbery 1715

The Lord Aylmer 1718

The Lord Farnham 1756 King George II

The Lord Lisle 1758

The Lord Clive 1762 Earl of Powis in the Peerage of the United Kingdom;
Lord Clive in the Peerage of Great Britain
.
King George III

The Lord Mulgrave 1767 Marquess of Normanby in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Lord Newborough 1776

The Lord Macdonald 1776

The Lord Kensington 1776 Lord Kensington in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in House of Lords from 1886–1999.

The Lord Westcote 1776 Viscount Cobham in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The Lord Massy 1776

The Lord Muskerry 1781

The Lord Hood 1782 Viscount Hood in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The Lord Sheffield 1783 Sat as Lord Stanley of Alderley in Peerage of the United Kingdom in House of Lords from 1903–1999;
Sat as Lord Eddisbury in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in House of Lords from 1903–1999.

The Lord Kilmaine 1789

The Lord Auckland 1789 Sat as Lord Auckland in the Peerage of Great Britain in House of Lords from 1793–1999.

The Lord Waterpark 1792

The Lord Bridport 1794 Viscount Bridport in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Lord Graves 1794

The Lord Huntingfield 1796

The Lord Carrington 1796 Sat as Lord Carrington in the Peerage of Great Britain in House of Lords from 1797–1999.

The Lord Rossmore 1796 Sat as Lord Rossmore in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in House of Lords from 1838–1999.

The Baron Hotham 17 March 1797

The Baron Crofton 1 December 1797

The Baron ffrench 14 February 1798

The Baron Henley 9 November 1799 United Kingdom Baron Northington 1885–1999

The Baron Clanmorris 31 July 1800

The Baron Dufferin and Claneboye 31 July 1800

The Baron Dunalley 31 July 1800

The Baron Ennismore 31 July 1800 Earl of Listowel in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Baron Henniker 31 July 1800 United Kingdom Baron Hartismere 1866–1999

The Baron Langford 31 July 1800

The Baron Ventry 31 July 1800

The Baron Ashtown 27 December 1800

The Baron Norbury 27 December 1800 Earl of Norbury in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Baron Erris 29 December 1800 Viscount Kingston in the Peerage of Ireland.
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The Baron Rendlesham 1 February 1806 King George III

The Baron Kiltarton 15 May 1810 Viscount Gort in the Peerage of Ireland.

The Baron Decies 21 December 1812 The Prince Regent on behalf of King George III

The Baron Castlemaine 24 December 1812

The Baron Garvagh 28 August 1818

The Baron Talbot of Malahide[5] 26 May 1831 King William IV

The Baron Carew 13 June 1834 United Kingdom Baron Carew 1838–1999

The Baron Oranmore and Browne 4 July 1836 United Kingdom Baron Mereworth 1926–1999 Queen Victoria

The Baron Bellew 10 July 1848

The Baron Fermoy 10 September 1865

The Baron Rathdonnell 21 December 1868

Extinct peerages

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Two Irish earldoms have become extinct since the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, both in 2011:

  • Earl of Egmont (1733), Viscount Perceval (1722), Baron Perceval (1715), Baron Lovel and Holland (GB 1762), Baron Arden (1770), Baron Arden (UK 1802)
  • Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (1822), Viscount Mount-Earl (1816), Viscount Adare (1822), Baron Adare (1800), Baron Kenry (UK 1866)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ With the establishment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the separate title "King of Ireland" ceased.

References

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  1. ^ "40.2" (PDF), Constitution of Ireland, Dublin: Stationery Office, archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2009
  2. ^ According to [1], there was a dispute in 1855/56 as to whether the government had created the barony of Fermoy prematurely, before three further peerages had become extinct.
  3. ^ The Marquess is the Hereditary Constable of Hillsborough Fort
  4. ^ The Marquess is the Hereditary Lord High Admiral of Lough Neagh and Hereditary Governor of Carrickfergus Castle
  5. ^ The Baron is the Hereditary Lord Admiral of Malahide and the Adjacent Seas
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