James Agar 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 ...

politician. He was a litigious and hot-tempered man, whose bitter feud with a rival political faction led to his being killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

. He was the father of the first and last

Baron Callan Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

.Andrews, Helen "Agar, James" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography''

Career

Agar was the second son of James Agar of Gowran Castle,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, and his second wife Mary Wemyss, daughter of Sir Henry Wemyss. He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. From 1747 to 1760, he was 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 ...

, having in effect inherited the seat, which had been held by his father and his brother

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 ...

. His relations with Henry were poor, and resulted in an unsuccessful legal action by James against Henry. In 1761 he was MP for

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

in Kilkenny; and in 1768,

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It is 19 km north of Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk is Cruachan, an Iron Age (Gaelic) royal palace. As recou ...

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

Duel and death

The following year he was killed in a duel with Henry Flood, who was both a bitter political rival for control of the borough of Callan, County Kilkenny, and a personal enemy. Flood had provoked an earlier duel by assaulting James, but both men survived unscathed.The bitter rivalry, involving much vexatious litigation, continued, leading to further violence, and resulted in another challenge. At the second duel James, who missed with his first shot, reputedly shouted "Fire, you scoundrel!": Flood duly fired, killing James.At the insistence of the Agar family Flood was prosecuted for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, but was found guilty of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

, and spared a prison sentence, as according to the code of the time he had acted honourably. The case, which aroused huge public interest, did no harm to Flood's reputation: indeed, the episode is said to have increased the popularity of duels, due partly to the high social standing of the protagonists.

Marriage and children

Agar married the Hon. Rebecca Flower, daughter of

William Flower, 1st Baron Castle Durrow William Flower, 1st Baron Castle Durrow PC (Ire) (11 March 1685 – 29 April 1746) was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Political career He sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilkenny County from 1715 to 1727. Subsequently he represent ...

and Edith Caulfeild, and had six children. Their third son was

George Agar, 1st Baron Callan George Agar, 1st Baron Callan PC (4 December 1751 – 29 October 1815) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Agar was the third son of James Agar, of Ringwood, County Kilkenny, by the Honourable Rebecca Flower, daughter of William Flower, ...

: another son was Charles Agar,

Archdeacon of Emly The Archdeacon of Emly was a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Emly and its successor amalgamated dioceses.Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae Vol I pp101-105 Cotton, H.: Dublin, Hodges & Smith 1851 Notable archdeacons included Garrett Fit ...

References

{{authority control Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies