Captain Otway Cuffe (11 January 1853 – 3 January 1912) was twice mayor of

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

and a notable person in

, founding businesses and organisations to profit the local people.

Background

Born the Honourable Otway Frederick Seymour Cuffe to

John Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart John Otway O'Conner Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart (12 October 1818 – 1 April 1865), styled Viscount Castlecuffe until 1820, was an Irish Conservative politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between March and ...

, and Lady Elizabeth Lucy Campbell. He had an older sister and two older brothers. The second eldest of his brothers,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, succeeded the eldest,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

as Earl of Desart. As the 5th Earl had no male heirs himself, Cuffe was nominally his heir. However, as Cuffe also died without heirs, when the 5th Earl died the line became extinct.

Family

Cuffe married Elizabeth St. Aubyn on 22 July 1891. She was the daughter of John St. Aubyn, 1st Baron St. Levan of St. Michaels Mount and Lady Elizabeth Clementina Townshend. When he became the heir to the Kilkenny-based title he moved to Ireland and lived nearby the main house, in Sheestown Lodge, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny. Cuffe had been in the Army. He had been Aide-de-camp to the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

for 1880–81. He was

Groom of the Privy Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

from 1893 to her death in 1901 and

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

to both King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

from 1901 until his death in 1910 and King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

until 1911. His rank in the army was Captain in the Rifle Brigade.

Activities

Dedicated to ensuring a strong Irish identity in the area Cuffe worked with his sister-in-law Lady Desert. He joined the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

soon after his arrival in

. He was elected president of its Kilkenny branch in 1904 and remained so until his death. He was replaced by Lady Desert. Together they opened the theatre in Kilkenny in 1902 and Cuffe was the first President of the Kilkenny Drama Club. Cuffe would also perform on stage. He was first elected Mayor of Kilkenny in 1907 and again in 1908. With Lady Desart he built the Kilkenny Woollen Mills, Desart Hall, the Talbot's Inch model village and the Kilkenny Woodworkers factory. He laid the foundation stone for Kilkenny's Carnegie library. He was also President of the Irish Industrial Association Cuffe was a friend of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

whom he had met on a trip to Iceland. He believed in the Arts and Crafts movement and tried to implement it in the projects which he drove. He was also a friend and supporter of

Standish James O'Grady Standish James O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Séamus Ó Grádaigh; 18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the Celtic Revival, publ ...

and helped him found the weekly radical conservative paper ''The All-Ireland Review'' and run it between 1900 and 1906. In 1911 he became ill and was forced to move to warmer climates until he recovered. He decided to go to the south of Europe but then a visit to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

seemed appropriate. However, on the journey there he became ill and died. He was buried in

Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; a suburb of Hannington, Hampshire, Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. ...

where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffe, Otway 1853 births 1912 deaths Politicians from County Kilkenny Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Businesspeople from London Politicians from London Rifle Brigade officers Younger sons of earls Mayors of Kilkenny Businesspeople from County Kilkenny

Background

Family

Activities

Further reading

References