Joseph Henry Blake, 3rd Baron Wallscourt (2 June 1797 – 28 May 1849), was an Irish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and pioneering

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. Blake (one of

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

) was the eldest son of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Henry James Blake, younger brother of The 1st Baron Wallscourt. He grew up on the Ardfry Estate, near Maree, where his father was the

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. He was educated at

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, and joined the 85th Regiment of Foot at the age of 15. When, at 18, he unexpectedly inherited the Ardfry Estate and the Wallscourt title on the death of his first cousin, he abandoned his military career. During subsequent travels in Europe, according to Lord Wallscourt he was first impressed by "some of the theories, then much debated, for lifting the labourer into the position of partner with the capitalist." Following a visit to the co-operative commune at

Ralahine Ralahine () is a townland of County Clare best known for its experiment in communism in 1831. The Ralahine Commune was a cooperative society and commune founded in 1831 on the estate of John Scott Vandeleur at Ralahine, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Coun ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

—about from his home—he attempted to implement socialist theories on his own estate. The results were mixed, but he persisted until his early death of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

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. In the last years of his life, Lord Wallscourt joined the

Irish Confederation The Irish Confederation was an Irish nationalist independence movement, established on 13 January 1847 by members of the Young Ireland movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association. Historian T. W. Moody described it as "t ...

, but, while he supported the French revolutionaries of 1848, he could not be convinced that armed revolution was a practical proposition in the famine-stricken Ireland of that time.

References

* Cunningham, 'Lord Wallscourt' pp. 94–5

Sources

Cunningham, John. ''Lord Wallscourt of Ardfry (1797–1849): an early Irish socialist''
Journal of the Galway Archaeological & Historical Society, vol.57 (2005), pp. 90–112. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallscourt, Joseph Blake, 3rd Baron 1797 births 1849 deaths Nobility from County Galway Barons in the Peerage of Ireland People educated at Eton College Irish socialists Deaths from cholera in France 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) officers

See also

References

Sources