Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount FitzWilliam, PC (Ireland) (c. 1677 – 6 June 1743), of

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) south ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nobleman and politician.

Origins

He was the only son of

Thomas FitzWilliam, 4th Viscount FitzWilliam Thomas FitzWilliam, 4th Viscount FitzWilliam (c.1640–1704) was an Irish nobleman and statesman; he was a leading Irish Jacobite, and a political figure of some importance during the Williamite War in Ireland. Background He was the only son ...

by his first wife Mary Stapleton, a daughter of the English statesman Sir

Philip Stapleton Sir Philip Stapleton of Wighill and of Warter-on-the-Wolds, Yorkshire (1603 – 18 August 1647) was an English Member of Parliament, a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. His surname is also sometimes spelt Stapylton ...

and his first wife Frances Hotham.''Burke's Peerage'', 107th Edition Vol.1 p.677 The FitzWilliam family is recorded in Ireland from about 1210, and by the seventeenth century had become one of the largest landowners in Dublin.

Career

He succeeded to the Viscountcy of FitzWilliam in 1704, and became a member of the Irish Privy Council in 1715. He was elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

in 1727, a seat he held until 1734. His father and grandfather had been

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and his father had been under

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

for a time for his loyalty to the Catholic King James II;Ball, F. Elrington ''History of Dublin'' Alexander Thom and Co. Dublin 1902–1920 Vol.2 p.21 but Richard conformed to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

Properties

In 1711, he built Mount Merrion House in

. The older family home of

Merrion Castle Merrion Castle was a castle situated about 300m south of the present-day Merrion Gates, to the south of Dublin city centre. Built in the early fourteenth century, it was from the sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century the principal se ...

was, rather surprisingly, allowed to fall into decay: it was a ruin by 1730, and was pulled down later in the century. Richard spent his later years in England, but his heirs returned to Mount Merrion. He let the house to John Wainwright, one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland).

Marriage and children

Lord Fitzwilliam married Frances Shelley, daughter of Sir John Shelley, 3rd Baronet of Michaelgrove and his first wife Bridget Neville, daughter of George Nevill, 11th Baron Bergavenny. They had five children: * Richard FitzWilliam, 6th Viscount FitzWilliam *William FitzWilliam,

Usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

in Ireland * John FitzWilliam, a soldier; *Mary FitzWilliam, who married firstly

Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke Lt.-Gen. Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke, 6th Earl of Montgomery (29 January 16939 January 1749) was an English peer and courtier. He was the heir and eldest son of Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke and his first wife Margaret Sawyer. H ...

; through this marriage in the following century, the great FitzWilliam inheritance passed into the Herbert family, who are today still substantial landowners in Dublin city. She married secondly Major North Ludlow Bernard, of Castle Bernard,

Bandon, County Cork Bandon (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means 'Bridge of the Bandon', a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its ...

, who was the grandfather through his first wife of the first

Earl of Bandon Earl of Bandon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon. He had already been created Baron Bandon, of Bandon Bridge in the County of Cork, in 1793, Viscount Bandon, of Bandon Bridge ...

. *Frances FitzWilliam, who married

George Evans, 2nd Baron Carbery George Evans, 2nd Baron Carbery (died 2 February 1759), known until 1749 as Hon. George Evans, was a British politician. Like his father, he represented Westbury as a Whig. Evans entered the British House of Commons in 1734 as a supporter of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzWilliam, Richard FitzWilliam, 5th Viscount 1677 births 1743 deaths 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People from Mount Merrion