Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford (1639August 1704), was 4th
Viscount Taaffe, of
Corren, and 4th Baron of
Ballymote and an army commander and politician of Irish descent in the service of Emperor
Ferdinand III in the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
capital
Vienna and later of Duke
Charles IV of Lorraine in
Nancy.
Life
Francis Taaffe was born at
Ballymote in
County Sligo, Ireland
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local aut ...
, the third son of
Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford (who, following the
Battle of Worcester had accompanied King
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
in exile in 1652), and Mary (nee White), Countess of Carlingford. After the death of his elder brother, Francis received the titles of
Earl of Carlingford and
Viscount Taaffe, both belonging to the
Peerage of Ireland.
By the agency of King Charles, Francis Taaffe studied at the
University of Olomouc in
Moravia, and became a
page at the
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
court in Vienna. He began a military career as a commander in the Imperial forces during the
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
and became a most intimate friend of the Lorrainian duke Charles IV, who from 1670 had to cope with the occupying troops of King
Louis XIV of France.
Taaffe rose to the rank of
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
, having greatly distinguished himself at the 1683
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
and in other campaigns of the
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
, and was a member of the
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...
. Lord Carlingford was sent on many important diplomatic missions, and at the end of his life was chancellor and chief minister to Duke
Leopold of Lorraine.
Family
In 1676, he married Helena Maximiliana von Traudisch. He died without children in August 1704 in Nancy, where he is buried at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l’Annonciation et Saint-Sigisbert in
Nancy.
Notes
References
*
* G.E. Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, Hrsg.: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.'', Band III, page 29.
* Jérémy Filet, “The networks of Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford and Irish Jacobite émigrés in the Duchy of Lorraine” in ''Eighteenth-Century Ireland'' 36, 2021.
External links
ThePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlingford, Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of
Knights of the Golden Fleece
1639 births
1704 deaths
Palacký University Olomouc alumni
Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire
Viscounts Taaffe
Earls in the Peerage of Ireland