John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel PC (Ire) (1740 – 23 August 1828) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer and

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, a ...

, who served as

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as Ch ...

(1784–1785, 1804–1806, 1807–1811) and as the last

Speaker of the Irish House of Commons The Speaker of the Irish House of Commons was the presiding officer of the Irish House of Commons until its disestablishment in 1800. In the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, the Speaker was the dominant politica ...

(1785–1800).

Early life

He was the son of Anthony Foster of Dunleer,

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

(himself the son of John Foster, MP for

Dunleer Dunleer () is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. Dunleer is situated midway between Dundalk and Drogheda and is located on the junction of the R132, R169 and R170 regional roads that intersect the town. Dunleer used to be the p ...

) by his first wife Elizabeth Burgh. Foster lived in Merville, now part of the

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

Campus in

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (, meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"; pronounced ), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access Clonskeagh is a t ...

, which came into his ownership in 1778. He also inherited

Collon Collon () is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 road (Ireland), N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, the ancestral home of ...

House in County Louth from his father, and made extensive improvements to the house and grounds; Collon was famous for its variety of trees and shrubs.

Political career

He was elected

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 of ...

(MP) to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for

in 1761, a seat he held until 1769. He made his mark in financial and commercial questions, being appointed

Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as Ch ...

in 1784. His law giving bounties on the exportation of corn and imposing heavy taxes on its importation is noted by

William Lecky William Edward Hartpole Lecky (26 March 1838 – 22 October 1903) was an Irish historian, essayist, and political theorist with Whig proclivities. His major work was an eight-volume ''History of Ireland during the Eighteenth Century''. Early ...

as being largely responsible for making Ireland an arable instead of a pasture country. In 1785 he became the last Speaker of the

. In 1768, Foster was elected for

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population, tenth largest settlement in ...

and in 1783 for Sligo Borough. Both times he had also stood for

, which constituency he then chose to represent. He held this seat until the Act of Union in 1801, which he opposed. From 1785 to 1800 he was Speaker of the Irish Parliament. It was said by his critics that his opposition to the Union was less political than personal: summoned to London for consultations, he found himself treated with contempt by the English officials he dealt with, who mocked his broad Irish accent and called him "Mister Spaker". On returning to Ireland he launched a campaign of opposition to the Union. He ultimately refused to surrender the Speaker's mace, which was kept by his family and is now on display in the

Parliament House, Dublin Parliament House ( ga, Tithe na Parlaiminte) in Dublin, Ireland, was home to the Parliament of Ireland, and since 1803 has housed the Bank of Ireland. It was the world's first purpose-built bicameral parliament house. It is located at College ...

(now the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

). He served as

Custos Rotulorum of Louth The Custos Rotulorum of Louth was the highest civil officer in County Louth. Incumbents *1656–?1675: Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda (died 1675) *?1675–?1679 : ?Charles Moore, 2nd Earl of Drogheda (died 1679) *1679–? : Henry Hamilton-Moo ...

from 1798 to 1801 and Governor of Louth from 1798 to his death. Foster was returned in 1801 to the new United Kingdom parliament as a member for

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, and from 1804 to 1806 was

under Pitt. From 1807 to 1813 he was second Commissioner in the Irish Treasury and from 1807 to 1812 one of the Lord Commissioners of the UK Treasury. In 1821 he has created a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Oriel, of

Ferrard Ferrard () is a barony in County Louth, Republic of Ireland. Etymology Ferrard derives its name from ''Fera Arda Ciannachta'', "men of the high Ciannachta", referring to the uplands around Mount Oriel. Location Ferrard is found in south Co ...

, in the County of Louth, and died on 23 August 1828.

Family

Foster Place, Dublin, street sign, named after John Foster

In 1764, he married Margaretta Amelia Burgh, daughter of Thomas Burgh, MP for Lanesborough, and his wife Anne Downes, daughter of

Dive Downes Dive Downes (b Thornby, Northamptonshire 1652 – d Dublin 1709) was Bishop of Cork and Ross from 1699 to 1709. Downes was born in Northamptonshire, son of the Reverend Lewis Downes. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in ...

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...

. John and Margaretta had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, John Foster, was MP for

1790–92 and died without issue before 18 April 1792. That John should not be confused with his cousin John William Foster, MP for

1783–90.
says "John William Foster,. M.P., for Dunleer, who married 1788, Rebecca, the only child of Hamilton McClure, Esq., of Dublin, and died 1809, having had ..." His wife (d. 1824) had in 1790 been created an Irish peeress, as Baroness Oriel, and in 1797 Viscount Ferrard, Viscountess Ferrard. Their younger son, Thomas Henry (1772–1843), who married Harriet Skeffington, Viscountess Massereene in her own right, and took the name of Skeffington, inherited all these titles; the later Viscounts Massereene being their descendants. John and Margaretta also had a daughter, Anne, who married James Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin, but had no children. She outlived her husband by many years and reached the age of 93. One of his first cousins married Elizabeth Hervey, aka Lady Bess Foster, aka Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire. His younger brother was Lord Bishop Foster.

Arms

References

External links

Foster papers Online at the Northern Ireland Public Records Office

Biography and letters

*APW Malcomson: "John Foster: The politics of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy"; , 504 pages, 1978 Oxford: Oxford University Press *APW Malcomson: An Anglo-Irish Dialogue: A Calendar of the Correspondence between John Foster and Lord Sheffield 1774-1821"; , 1975 Belfast: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:Oriel, John Foster, 1st Baron 1740 births 1828 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John UK MPs who were granted peerages Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Sligo constituencies