James Agar, 1st Viscount Clifden (25 March 1734 – 1 January 1789), was an

Irish peer The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

and politician and held the office of one of the joint

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post las ...

Family

He was the second son of

Henry Agar Henry Agar (1707-1746) was an Irish politician, and the father of the 1st Viscount Clifden and the 1st Earl of Normanton. Agar was the eldest son of James Agar of Gowran Castle and his second wife Mary Wemyss, daughter of Sir Henry Wemyss of Dan ...

, a former MP for

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is located in the centre of Gowran close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course is located one km from t ...

, and Anne Ellis, daughter of Welbore Ellis,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Unti ...

, and was probably born at

Gowran Castle Gowran Castle is located in the centre of Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The castle is a manor house and was fully restored between 2013 and 2014. Early years The first Gowran Castle was built in 1385 by James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, cl ...

on 25 March 1734. On 20 March 1760 James married Lucia Martin, daughter of John Martin and widow of Henry Boyle-Walsingham. Together they had three children; Henry-Welbore, John Ellis, b. 31 December 1763, and Charles-Bagnell, b. 13 August 1765. Agar was made a Baron Clifden on 27 July 1776 and

Viscount Clifden Viscount Clifden, of Gowran in the County of Kilkenny, Ireland, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 January 1781 for James Agar, 1st Baron Clifden. He had already been created Baron Clifden, of Gowran in the County of ...

on 12 January 1781 and on 13 August 1794 became Baron Mendip. He died on 1 January 1789 when his eldest son became the second viscount and Baron Mendip. His widow died in 1802. Agar's younger brothers were Charles Agar, first

Earl of Normanton Earl of Normanton is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Charles Agar, 1st Viscount Somerton, Archbishop of Dublin. He had already been created Baron Somerton, of Somerton in the County of Kilkenny, in 1795 and Visco ...

(1736–1809), who became the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and

Welbore Ellis Agar Welbore Ellis Agar FRS (1735 – 30 October 1805) was an Anglo-Irish gentleman, senior officer of HM Revenue and Customs, and art collector, who lived most of his life in Mayfair, Westminster. Life Agar was the middle son of Henry Agar of Gowran ...

, a notable art collector.Rebecca Lyons, "Selling the collection of Welbore Ellis Agar" in

Susanna Avery-Quash Susanna Mary Avery-Quash (born 1970) is a British art historian, curator, and author. She is senior research curator at the National Gallery, researching its collections and curating 19th-century items in its history collection, and a research fell ...

, Christian Huemer, eds., ''London and the Emergence of a European Art Market, 1780-1820'' (Getty Publications, 6 August 2019)
p 176
/ref>

Politics

In addition to being a Member of Parliament (MP) for

, for which he sat three times, from 1753 to 1761, again from 1768 to 1769 and finally from 1776 to 1777, he controlled three other borough seats through the strength of his family holdings. Between 1761 and 1776, he represented Kilkenny County and between 1768 and 1769

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of ...

. He held the post of joint

Postmaster General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post las ...

between 1784 and 1789 with

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), PC (Ire) (15 September 17445 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and, after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Pon ...

References

External links

Irish Legislation Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agar, James 1735 births 1788 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Clifden, James Agar, 1st Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Ireland

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Postmasters General of Ireland