Denis Daly (1748 – 10 October 1791) of Carrownakelly and

Dunsandle Castle Dunsandle Castle is a 15th-century castle near Athenry, County Galway, in Ireland. History Dunsandle Castle is referenced by Nolan, J.P. Galway Castles and Owners in 1574 Nolan, J.P. Galway Castles and Owners in 1574 (Barons of Kingestowne A ...

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, 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 ...

landowner and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Biography

His father was James Daly of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle in County Galway, and his mother was Catherine Gore, daughter of

Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet (c. 1675 – 23 February 1733) was a Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. He is now chiefly remembered for building Belle Isle Castle. The Gore Baronetcy, of Magherabegg in the County of Donegal, was created in the ...

and his second wife Elizabeth Ashe. He was the eldest of five sons. His siblings included

St George Daly St George Daly (1758 – December 1829) was an Irish judge, who had a reputation for ignorance of the law. He owed his career advancement entirely to his support for the Act of Union 1801, which did nothing to enhance his standing in the lega ...

, judge of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Benc ...

. He was the great-grandson of Denis Daly, judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

. Though traditionally

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and of

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

origin, the Dalys had been able to hold on to their lands by converting to the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

faith and forsaking their allegiance to the

Stuart dynasty The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, but there is no record of his taking a degree there. Daly owned estates in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, and

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 ...

. He had to sell off half of these estates to pay his debts, but on his marriage to Lady Henrietta Maxwell, the only daughter of

Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham PC (c. 1720 – 16 November 1779), styled The Honourable Robert Maxwell from 1756 to 1759, was an Irish peer and a Member of both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland. Background and ed ...

and Henrietta Cantillon, widow of the 3rd

Earl of Stafford Baron Stafford, referring to the town of Stafford, is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. In the 14th century, the barons of the first creation were made earls. Those of the fifth creation, in the 17th century ...

, his fortunes once again increased. His family residence was Carrownakelly Castle, in the parish of Kiltullagh, where the Dalys had lived for several generations, but he moved some four miles south towards

where he built Dunsandle House, sometime in the mid-18th century. In 1769 and 1772 he served as

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. The ...

Political career

Daly was a friend of

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

, who had great respect for his political skills, and like him, sat 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 fra ...

. Between 1767 and 1768, he was

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 Galway Borough. Subsequently, he represented Galway County until 1790, and then again Galway Borough until 1792. In 1783, he was also elected for the latter constituency, but chose not to sit. He never held high Ministerial office but was appointed Muster Master General. He was a fine orator but did not often speak in Parliament; when he did it was usually from a carefully prepared script.

Character

He had a reputation for laziness, but he was intelligent, good-humoured, and a fine classical scholar. Grattan called him one of the best and brightest characters Ireland had ever produced, and said that his early death was a tragedy for his country. Grattan even suggested that Daly's wisdom and moderation, had he lived, might have prevented the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

Family

His eldest son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

represented Galway County in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

and was later raised to the peerage. A younger son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, was a leading Irish evangelical who became

Bishop of Cashel and Waterford The Bishop of Cashel and Waterford (''Full title'': Bishop of Cashel and Emly with Waterford and Lismore) was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Cashel and Waterford; comprising all of County Waterford, the southern part of Count ...

, and was noted for his hostility to Roman Catholics. He also had six daughters. His widow died at a great age in 1852.

References

* * ''The Lords of Dunsandle'', James Noel Dillon, in '' Kiltullagh/Killimordaly: As the Centuries passed: A history from 1500-1900'', pp. 43–67, ed. Kieran Jordan, 2000. * ''Clare bards, Galway gentry'', Patrick Melvin, ''The Irish Genealogist'', 2002 * ''The Daly Chronicle'', Dermot Daly,''The Irish Genealogist'', 2002 1748 births 1791 deaths Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Mayors of Galway Politicians from County Galway Irish duellists Members of the Privy Council of Ireland {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub