Daniel O'Brien (1683–1759) was an Irish Jacobite

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served in the Irish Brigade of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. He is often referred to as Colonel Daniel O'Brien.

Biography

He was appointed Earl of Lismore in the Jacobite peerage, a title that was not formally recognised in his native

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. His father Murrough O'Brien originally from

Carrigogunnell Carrigogunnell Castle (Irish: ''Chairrge Ó gCoinneall'') is a medieval Irish fortification near the village of Clarina, on the banks of the River Shannon in County Limerick. The structure dates to at least the early 13th century, and was slig ...

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

was also one of the Wild Geese, rising to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and briefly commanding

Clare's Dragoons The Clare's Regiment, later known as Clare's Dragoons, was initially named O'Brien's Regiment after its originator Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare raised a mounted dragoon regiment during the Jacobitism, Jacobite war. When Clare's Dragoons l ...

. After the Jacobite claimant James Stuart was forced to leave France for

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

due to the terms of the Anglo-French Alliance, he acted as his agent in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

replacing his fellow countrymen Arthur Dillion in the role and working alongside

Francis Sempill Francis Sempill (c. 1616 – March 1682) was a Scottish poet, the son of Robert Sempill the younger. No details of his education are known. His fidelity to the Stuarts involved him in money difficulties, to meet which he alienated portion ...

and later George Kelly. He also acted as an emissary to the Russian court of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in 1718. In 1745 he signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau which committed France to support the

Jacobite Rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

that year. From 1747 onwards he was Secretary of State, effectively chief minister to James in his Roman exile. He died in 1759 and was succeeded by his son James Daniel O'Brien (1736–1780) in his Jacobite title.Massue p.76

References

Bibliography

* Massue, Melville Henry. ''The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Grants of Honour''. Genealogical Publishing, 2003. * Miller, Peggy. ''James''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. * Wills, Rebecca. ''The Jacobites and Russia, 1715–1750''. Dundurn, 2002. 1683 births 1759 deaths 18th-century Irish people Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers Earls in the Jacobite peerage Jacobite Secretaries of State Irish soldiers in the French Army Peers created by James II (1689–1701) {{Ireland-bio-stub