Edward Tighe (1740-1801) was an Irish lawyer, writer and politician, who represented a number of constituencies 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 ...

. The son of

William Tighe, MP 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 Eng ...

for Wexford then for Wicklow, and Mary Bligh (daughter of

John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley (28 December 1687 – 12 September 1728), was an Irish peer of the realm, peer born of an English family. Early life He was the son of Elizabeth (née Napier) Bligh and Thomas Bligh (1654–1710), Thomas Bligh (16 ...

), he was educated at Eton College, and St. John's College, Cambridge, and called to the English bar in 1759 and the Irish bar in 1776.

Political career

Tighe was first elected to the Irish parliament for

Belturbet Belturbet (; ) is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It lies on the N3 road, around north of Cavan town and from Dublin. It is also located around south of the border with Northern Ireland, between the counties of Cavan and Fermanagh, and fr ...

, Co. Cavan, in 1763, elected for Wicklow Burrough (succeeding his brother Richard William Tighe) in 1768, then

Athboy Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic. History In medieval tim ...

Co. Meath, from 1776 (succeeding his elder brother William Tighe) until 1773 when he represented Wicklow Borough again until 1797.

Personal life

He had two full brothers, William and Richard, and a sister,

Theodosia Blachford Theodosia Blachford (1744 – 9 November 1817) was an Irish philanthropist and leading figure in the Methodist Church in Ireland. Early life Theodosia Blachford was born Theodosia Tighe in 1744 in Rosanna, County Wicklow. She was the only daug ...

, a prominent Methodist. (Theodosia's daughter, his niece, was the poet

Mary Tighe Mary Tighe (9 October 1772 – 24 March 1810) was an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career Mary Blackford (or Blanchford) was born in Dublin, 9 October 1772. Her parents were Theodosia Tighe, a Methodist leader, and William Blachford (d.1773?), ...

.) He had a half-brother, Rev. Thomas Tighe, who was instrumental in helping the young Patrick Bronte, and a half-sister, Barbara Sandys, from their father's second marriage to Margaret (nee Theaker). He married Ann Jones from Co. Westmeath and they had one son,

George William Tighe George William Tighe (25 February 1776March 1837) was an Irish agricultural theorist who spent much of his life in Italy. Through his marriage to Margaret King, he exerted an influence on the radical poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Agriculture and sc ...

(1776-1837)'The Collected Letters of Mary Blachford Tighe' By Mary Tighe an agronomist who spent most of his life in Italy as the companion or husband of

Margaret King Margaret King (1773–1835), also known as Margaret King Moore, Lady Mount Cashell and Mrs Mason, was an Anglo-Irish hostess, and a writer of female-emancipatory fiction and health advice. Despite her wealthy aristocratic background, she had re ...

. Edward died in 1801, having been predeceased by his wife in 1792.

References

Irish barristers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cavan constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies 1740 births 1801 deaths {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub