Baron Esmonde was a title in the

Peerage of Ireland 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. It is one of the five divisi ...

. It was created on 20 May 1632 for Sir Laurence Esmonde. He had earlier renounced the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith. However, he married a Roman Catholic wife, Margaret O'Flaherty, daughter of Murrough O'Flaherty, Chief of

Iar Connacht West Connacht ( ga, Iarthar Chonnachta; Modern Irish: ''Iar Connacht'') was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represent ...

, with whom he had a son, Thomas. Fearing that her son would be raised a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, Esmonde's wife ran away with their son and brought him up as a strict Roman Catholic. In 1629, three years before his father's elevation to the peerage, Thomas was created a baronet, of Ballynastragh in the County of Wexford. As he was the child of a mixed marriage, the legality of which was disputed (the position was further complicated by his father making a second marriage while his mother was still alive), he was not allowed to succeed in the barony, which became extinct on Lord Esmonde's death in 1646. The Esmonde Baronetcy is still extant, however (see

Esmonde baronets The Esmonde Baronetcy, of Ballynastragh in the County of Wexford, is a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 28 January 1629 for Thomas Esmonde. He raised a cavalry regiment for Charles I and commanded a regiment during the Siege ...

Barons Esmond (1632)

* Laurence, 1st Baron Esmonde (died 1646)

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esmonde Extinct baronies in the Peerage of Ireland 1632 establishments in Ireland 1646 disestablishments in Ireland Noble titles created in 1632

Barons Esmond (1632)

See also

References