Sir James Spaight (1818 – 21 January 1892) 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 ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Family

Spaight was the second son of Francis Spaight — the owner of the ill-fated

Francis Spaight ''Francis Spaight'' was a transport ship in the 19th century, owned by an Irish merchant from Limerick, Ireland. The ship was engaged in trade with North America, such as transporting Irish emigrants to North America and transporting timber on the ...

ship - and Agnes Paterson, daughter of James Campbell Paterson. He married Elizabeth Alason Eckford, daughter of John Eckford, in 1850. He was the President of the

Limerick Chamber Limerick Chamber of Commerce also known as Limerick Chamber, was founded in 1805 Ireland. It is a business representative and lobbying organization that is in business for its 450+ members. The current President is Donnacha Hurley manager of the Ab ...

from 1871–92, his father Francis was President from 1847–61. He was the vice-president of the Limerick Protestant Young Mens Association.

Political career

He was a subscriber and council member and then, in 1869, president of the

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. In 1853, he was

High Sheriff of Limerick City The High Sheriff of Limerick City was the Sovereign's judicial representative in the city of the Limerick, City of Limerick. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provis ...

and later, in 1856, 1877 and 1883, he was

Mayor of Limerick The office of Mayor of the City and County of Limerick is currently the title used by the chairperson of Limerick City and County Council. Prior to the establishment of the council, the Mayor of Limerick was the chairperson of Limerick City Counc ...

. From 1871 to his death, he was president of the Limerick

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

. At some point, he was also a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and Deputy Lieutenant for

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. Spaight was elected unopposed as MP for

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

at a by-election in May 1858 but lost the seat at the next general election in 1859. He attempted to regain the seat on multiple occasions — in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

and

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

— but was each time unsuccessful. Spaight was knighted in 1887.

Recreation

James Spaight was the owner of a beautiful yacht named 'the Gossamer'. in 1846 he took a party of friends out on Lough Derg on Friday and returned back to Derry Castle at 10 o'clock. the yacht was powered by steam, and all the fires were quenched before the party disembarked. the yacht was found to be completely burned to the waterline the following morning. Was it malicious? We cannot say. In 1846, James Spaight was made Commodore of Lough Derg Yacht Club. James Spaight was owner of the 12 ton sailing yacht 'Gem' in 1847, and competed in Lough Derg Yacht Club.Nenagh Guardian, 7 Aug 1847

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spaight, James 1818 births 1892 deaths UK MPs 1857–1859 Mayors of Limerick (city) Deputy Lieutenants of Tipperary Deputy Lieutenants in Ireland High Sheriffs of Limerick City Irish Conservative Party MPs Irish justices of the peace Irish knights Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Limerick constituencies (1801–1922)