Henry Piers

Henry Piers, Esq (1568–1623), also spelt Henry Pierce or Perse, was an Anglo-Irish landowner and Member of Parliament who owned the estate of Tristernagh Abbey in the early 17th century.

Life

He was the only son of William Piers, a Yorkshireman who had been granted land in Ireland by Elizabeth I in return for military and other services. His mother was Ann Holt, of Holt Castle, Wrexham, on the north Welsh borders. Henry married Jane Jones, daughter of Thomas Jones, Archbishop of Dublin and Margaret Purdon, and had eight children.''The Peerage of Ireland'', v2, 1789, p.201 He served as the secretary to Lord Deputy Chichester and represented the potwalloper constituency of Baltimore in the 1613 Irish Parliament.Clarke, A. ''Prelude to Restoration in Ireland'', CUP, 1999, p.191 In addition to his father's estates at Tristernagh he also acquired plantation land in Cavan.

Henry Piers converted to Catholicism in his late 20s, after "conversing with many of the Romish church" according to a family memoir (which also claimed he did so "against the advice of his wife"). Piers was particularly influenced by his strong friendship with neighbouring "Old English" families who had retained the Catholic faith. He subsequently travelled on the Continent for some 8 years and on his return converted a number of his children, one of whom, Thomas Piers, was said to have become a Franciscan friar.Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'', v5, 1856, p.1620 He also wrote a book describing his travels,Brewer, J. N. ''The Beauties of Ireland'', v2, 1826, p.239 the manuscript of which eventually came to Sir James Ware, whose sister married into the Piers family. The manuscript was recently rediscovered and has proved an important source of information on the Irish laity in Europe during the time of the Nine Years' War.

Henry Piers was buried in a tomb in the now-ruined chapel of Templecross, which stands at the gates to Tristernagh demesne. An altar monument bearing the Piers arms and a Latin inscription still exists in the ruins; the inscription commemorates Henry Piers as a "hospitable native" of "renowned piety" who repaired Tristernagh Abbey.Woods, J. ''Annals of Westmeath'', Sealy, Bryers and Walker, 1907, p.307 A translation and drawing of the inscription are given in James Woods' ''Annals of Westmeath''.

Family

Piers was succeeded in his estates by his eldest son, who was later knighted, becoming Sir William Piers. Henry's grandson Sir Henry Piers, a soldier and notable antiquarian, was created a baronet in 1661, founding the Piers baronets of Tristernagh. One of his descendants was Sir John Piers, who was involved in a notorious adultery case in 1807, and was the subject of a poem by John Betjeman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piers, Henry
1568 births
1623 deaths
People from County Westmeath
17th-century Irish people
16th-century Irish landowners
Irish MPs 1613–1615
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies
16th-century Anglo-Irish people