James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil, KG, KP, PC (I) (23 August 1730 – 6 February 1798), was an Anglo-Irish peer, styled Viscount Limerick from 1756 to 1758. Lord Clanbrassil was the son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil, and Lady Harriet Bentinck. The Hamilton dynasty were an Ulster-Scots family by origin. He sat in 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 ...

as the Member of Parliament for

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

between 1755 and 1758, and served as

High Sheriff of Louth The High Sheriff of Louth was the Crown's representative for County Louth, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he held his office for the duration of a year. He had judicial, ceremonial and administrative func ...

in 1757. On 17 March 1758, he succeeded to his father's titles and became

Earl of Clanbrassil Earl of Clanbrassil was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for members of the Hamilton family. Clanbrassil was the name of an old Gaelic territory (''Clann Bhreasail'') in what is now the barony of Oneilland ...

. As his title was in the

Peerage of Ireland 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 divisi ...

, he was not barred from election to the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

. As such, he served as the MP for

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

from 1768 to 1774. On 4 July 1766 he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

and was ''

Custos Rotulorum ''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica. England, Wales and Northern Ireland The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...

'' of County Louth between 1769 and 1798. On 5 February 1783 he was made a Knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

and on 11 March that year he was appointed a Knight Founder of the

Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

. He married The Hon. Grace Foley, daughter of The 1st Baron Foley and The Hon. Grace Granville, on 21 May 1774 at Oxford Chapel,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

. He died without issue in 1798 and his titles became extinct.''The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Ireland'' (W. Owen nd 2 others 1790), 89–90. His name survives in that of Clanbrassil Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clanbrassil, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of 1730 births 1798 deaths British MPs 1768–1774 Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Knights of St Patrick High Sheriffs of County Louth Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Limerick, James Hamilton, Viscount Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Knights of the Garter Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies