George Augustus Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall KP, PC (Ire) (14 August 1769 – 5 October 1844), styled Viscount Chichester until 1791 and Earl of Belfast from 1791 to 1799, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

nobleman and politician. He was born into an

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

aristocratic family at St James's,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, and served for less than a year as a representative 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 ...

for

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

before succeeding his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

as second

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...

in 1799. Lord Donegall was admitted to the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1803 and later served as

Lord Lieutenant of County Donegal This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of County Donegal. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 183 ...

from 1831 until his death. He was also made a

Knight of the Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

in 1821 on the occasion of

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

's visit to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

A lifelong gambler, Lord Donegall married the daughter of Edward May, a moneylender and owner of a gambling house. This may have been an agreement to resolve some debts. In 1818 it came to light that Anna May was illegitimate and had been underage when she married. The result of a 1753 law meant that the marriage was invalid which would have disinherited the children from the titles. Proceedings were put in place to resolve the situation but it was the changing of the marriage act in 1822 which allowed the eldest son to retain his place in the inheritance. Lord Donegall died heavily in debt in 1844 at his home at Ormeau,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

(which formed the basis of

Ormeau Park Ormeau Park is the oldest municipal park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, having been officially opened to the public in 1871. It is owned and run by Belfast City Council and is one of the largest and busiest parks in the city and contains a variet ...

), and was buried in St Nicholas's Church,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegall, George Augustus Chichester, 2nd Marquess Of 1769 births 1844 deaths Irish MPs 1798–1800 Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Donegal Belfast, George Chichester, Earl of Members of the Privy Council of Ireland

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...