Charles Smyth (1693–1784) 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 who served as

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

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

for 45 years.

Family

Smyth was the son of Thomas Smyth,

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been uni ...

, and Dorothea Burgh (daughter of

Ulysses Burgh Ulysses Burgh (; ; 1632–1692) was an Irish Anglican cleric who was Dean of Emly (1685–1692) and Bishop of Ardagh (1692).“A New History of Ireland” Moody,T.W; Martin,F.X; Byrne,F.J;Cosgrove,A: Oxford, OUP, 1976 Life Burgh was born at ...

). His brothers included the lawyer and judge George Smyth and

Arthur Smyth Arthur Smyth (19 February 1706 – 14 December 1771) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1766 until his death in 1771.Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). ''Handbook of British Chronology'' (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univer ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

. In 1728 he married Elizabeth, the wealthy young widow of Sir John Dickson Haman, 1st and last Baronet.Maurice Lenihan, ''The History of Limerick'' (1866). She was the daughter of

Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet ( 1660 – 11 September 1709) was an Irish politician and soldier. Early life He was the son of Thomas Prendergast (d. 1725) of Croane, County Limerick, a small Catholic landowner, and Eleano ...

, who was killed at the

Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...

, and the sister of

Sir Thomas Prendergast, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Prendergast, 2nd Baronet (1702-died 23 September 1760) was an Irish politician. His career was helped by influential family connections, but apparently hampered by his own lack of ability. To Jonathan Swift, who detested him, he was "N ...

. Charles and Elizabeth's children included Thomas Smyth and

John Prendergast Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort (1742 – 23 May 1817) was an Irish politician. Born John Smyth, Gort was the son of Charles Smyth, Member of the Irish Parliament for Limerick City, and Elizabeth Prendergast. His paternal grandparents ...

, both of whom followed their father into politics. Their grandson Charles Vereker, son of their daughter Juliana, later inherited the Gort viscountcy.

Career

Smyth was elected

for

in 1731 and represented the constituency until 1776 (except for a short gap in 1761). He also served as

Mayor of Limerick The office of Mayor of the City and County of Limerick is currently the title used by the chairperson of Limerick City and County Council. Prior to the establishment of the council, the Mayor of Limerick was the chairperson of Limerick City Counc ...

in 1732.

References

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Limerick constituencies Mayors of Limerick (city) 1693 births 1784 deaths {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub