Colonel Henry Bruen (3 October 1789 – 5 November 1852) 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 ...

Tory Party The Tories were a loosely organised political faction and later a political party, in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They first emerged during the 1679 Exclusion Crisis, when they opposed ...

(and later

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

)

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 ...

. 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 o ...

(MP) for Carlow County for a total of about 36 years, in three separate periods between 1812 and 1852, taking his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of what was then the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

Life

Henry was the son of Henry Bruen (1741–1795), and Dorothea Henrietta Knox.Jupp, P.J., "Bruen, Henry (1789–1852)", ''History of Parliament''
/ref> His father originally came from

Boyle, County Roscommon Boyle (; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gar ...

, but had moved in 1775 to Oak Park estate, near Carlow town. The estate was inherited by Henry, and remained in the family until 1957. Bruen was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and then at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a colonel in the Carlow militia in 1816. In 1795, Bruen inherited the family estate of Oak Park. In 1828, Colonel Bruen supplied granite used in the construction of the

Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow The Cathedral of the Assumption is both the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and the parish church for the cathedral parish. Located in Carlow town, the cathedral was dedicated to the Assumption of the Bless ...

from his quarry in Graiguenaspidogue a few kilometres south of Carlow town. He also supplied the oak for its great-framed roof from nearby Oak Park.

Political career

Bruen was elected at the 1812 general election as MP for Carlow county, and was then returned unopposed at the next three general elections. He won a contested election in 1830, but did not stand at the 1831 general election. He stood again in

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plant ...

, but did not win either of Carlow's two seats.Walker, op., cit., page 256 He regained a seat at the general election in January 1835,Walker, op., cit., page 56 but the 1835 election in Carlow was overturned on petition, and Bruen lost his seat in the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 15 June.Walker, op., cit., page 61 However, the by-election was itself the subject of a petition, and the result was overturned, with Bruen being returned to

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, B ...

, along with his father-in-law, fellow Conservative Thomas Kavanagh. He did not win a seat in

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dick ...

, but returned to the House of Commons in 1840, when he won a by-election on 5 December after the death of the Liberal MP Nicholas Aylward Vigors.Walker, op., cit., page 68 He was then re-elected at the next three general elections, and died in office in November 1852 at the age of 63, five months after holding his seat at the general election in July.

Marriage and issue

In 1822 he married Anne Wandesforde Kavanagh, daughter of Thomas Kavanagh, The MacMorrough and Lady Elizabeth Butler. (Anne's younger half-brother was

Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (25 March 183125 December 1889) was an Irish politician. His middle name is spelled MacMorrough in some contemporaneous sources. Biography Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh was born on 25 March 1831 at Borris House in Cou ...

(1831–1889), the severely disabled writer, politician and sportsman). They had three daughters and one son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(1828–1912), who was MP for Carlow County from 1857 to 1880.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruen, Henry 1789 births 1852 deaths 19th-century Irish politicians People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Politicians from County Carlow Tory MPs (pre-1834) Irish Conservative Party MPs UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Carlow constituencies (1801–1922) British Militia officers