Charles O'Brien, (17 March 16999 September 1761), 6th

Viscount Clare Viscount Clare was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created twice. First creation The titles of Viscount Clare and Baron Moyarta were conferred on Daniel O'Brien, a younger son of Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond, on 11 July 1662. These tit ...

(titular 9th

Earl of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, Ki ...

) was an Irish military officer in French service, known to posterity as the Maréchal de Thomond. Charles O'Brien was the son of

Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare (1673–1706) was the son of Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare and Philadelphia Lennard. He married Charlotte Bulkeley, daughter of Henry Bulkeley and Sophia Bulkeley, Sophia Stuart, on 9 January 1696, at Sain ...

and Charlotte Bulkeley, the sister of Anne, second wife of

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica, 1st Duke of Fitz-James (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister o ...

and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

. He fought for France against Spain in 1718 with the rank of colonel in the service of his father's regiment and later fought in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

in the siege of Philippsburg in June 1734, where he was wounded. He gained the rank of Maréchal de Camp in 1735 in the service of the King's Armies. O'Brien also fought in the

Battle of Dettingen The Battle of Dettingen (german: Schlacht bei Dettingen) took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen in the Electorate of Mainz, Holy Roman Empire (now Karlstein am Main in Bavaria). It was fought between a ...

in 1743 and in the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

in 1745. O'Brien was invested as a Knight, L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit of France on 2 February 1746 at the chapel of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, Île-de-France, France. He held the office of Governor of

Neuf-Brisach Neuf-Brisach ( or ; ; gsw-FR, Nei-Brisach) is a fortified town and commune of the department of Haut-Rhin in the French region of Alsace. The fortified town was intended to guard the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire and, subsequ ...

in Alsace, and was Commander-in-Chief of the province of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. In 1757 he was made a

. He died on 9 September 1761, aged 62, at

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, France. O'Brien married Marie Genevieve Louise Gautier, daughter of

François Gautier, marquis de Chiffreville François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of ...

, in 1755 and had three children: *

Charles O'Brien, 7th Viscount Clare Charles O'Brien, titular 7th Viscount Clare and 9th Earl of Thomond (1757-1774) was a Franco-Irish nobleman. He was born on 18 October 1757 in Paris, France, the son of Charles O'Brien, 6th Viscount Clare Charles O'Brien, (17 March 16999 ...

*Antoinette Charlotte Marie Septimanie O'Brien (1759-1808), married

Antoine César de Choiseul, Duke of Praslin Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...

References

Thomond Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...

French military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Irish chiefs of the name 1699 births People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1761 deaths {{Ireland-viscount-stub