Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, PC (Ire) (4 March 1728 – 24 January 1779), styled The Honourable until 1756 and Lord Newtown-Butler from 1756 to 1768, 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 ...

politician and peer. He was the son of

Humphrey Butler, 1st Earl of Lanesborough Humphrey Butler, 1st Earl of Lanesborough (c. 1700 – 11 April 1768) was an Irish politician. Butler was appointed High Sheriff for County Cavan in 1727 and High Sheriff of Westmeath in 1728. Between 1725 and 1736, he sat as a Member of Par ...

and Mary Berry, daughter of Richard Berry. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Lanesborough in 1768. From 1751 until 1768, he was 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 o ...

(MP), or '

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

', for

Cavan County County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifne' ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

, and was

High Sheriff of Westmeath The High Sheriff of Westmeath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Westmeath, Ireland from its creation under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and ...

in 1763. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. As a Freemason, he was Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland from 1753 to 1756, and was elected Grand Master in 1757, a post he held until the next year.

Family

He married Lady Jane Rochfort, daughter of

Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere PC (26 March 1708 – 13 November 1774) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He became notorious for his abusive treatment of his second wife, Mary Molesworth. Early life He was the son of Rt. Hon. G ...

and his second wife Mary Molesworth. Their children were : *Robert, 3rd Earl of Lanesborough *Augustus, father of George Butler-Danvers, 5th Earl of Lanesborough *Mary, who married

George Ponsonby George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and education Ponsonby was the second surviving so ...

, Lord Chancellor of Ireland *Catherine, who married George Marlay, an army officer, only son of George Marlay,

Bishop of Dromore The Bishop of Dromore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the original monastery of Dromore in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church the title still continues as a separate bishopric, but in the Church of Irel ...

*Charlotte, who married Hugh Debbing *Caroline *Sophia, who married Luigi, Marquis Marescotti of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. His widow moved to Italy with her unmarried daughters, and there she gained an unenviable reputation for immorality and extravagance: in 1786 she fled from Naples to avoid being arrested for debt. When her daughter Sophia married a Milanese nobleman, the Marquis Marescotti,

Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...

asked unkindly if the mother had sold the daughter off to pay her debts. She remarried John King, who had reputedly been her lover for some time, and died in 1828.Fraser

Arms

References

1728 births 1779 deaths Newtown-Butler, Brinsley Butler, Lord Newtown-Butler, Brinsley Butler, Lord Politicians from County Cavan Newtown-Butler, Brinsley Butler, Lord Members of the Privy Council of Ireland

Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, PC (Ire) (4 March 1728 – 24 January 1779), styled The Honourable until 1756 and Lord Newtown-Butler from 1756 to 1768, was an Irish politician and peer. He was the son of Humphrey Butler, 1st Ea ...

{{Ireland-earl-stub