Luke Plunket, 3rd Earl of Fingall (1639–1684) was an Irish soldier and politician. He was one of the signatories of the Catholic Remonstrance of 1661.

Birth and origins

Luke was born in 1639 in Ireland. He was the eldest son of Christopher Plunket and his wife Mabel Barnewall. His father was the 2nd Earl of Fingall (since 1637). As the eldest son, Luke held from birth on the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Baron of Killeen. His father's family was

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

and attested in Ireland since the 11th century. Luke's mother was the daughter of

Nicholas Barnewall, 1st viscount Kingsland Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall (1592 – 20 August 1663) of Turvey, County Dublin, was an Irish landowner and politician. Family history After the subjection of Ireland in the time of Henry II, Michael de Berneval, who served under R ...

, and Lady Bridget FitzGerald. His parents had married in January 1636. Lucas had four brothers and one sister, who are listed in his father's article.

Early life

His father fought for the insurgents in the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

and the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

. After the dissolution of the Irish Catholic Confederation in 1649, he continued his fight in the Royalist Alliance against the Parliamentarians during the Cromwellian Conquest. On 2 August 1649 his father fought under

James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failure ...

at the Battle of Rathmines for the Royalist alliance against the Parliamentarians. He was wounded and taken prisoner by the Parliamentarians. He died two weeks later of his wounds while in captivity at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

. Killeen succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Fingall in August 1649 at the age of about ten. His father's estates were forfeited by the Parliamentarians.

Marriage and children

Some time before 1666, Fingall married Margaret MacCarty, second daughter of

Donough MacCarthy, 1st Earl of Clancarty Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

and Eleanor Butler. Luke and Margaret had three sons (of which the elder two died young and are not known by name): # Peter (1678–1718), his successor —and three daughters: # Elizabeth, married to Rowland Eyre, Esq., of Hassop, Derbyshire, and of Estwell in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

# Helena, married first in 1681 to Sir FitzGerald Aylmer, Baronet, of Donadea in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

and secondly to Michael Fleming, Esq., of Staholmog in County Meath # Amelia, married Theobald Taaffe, 4th Earl of Carlingford, the last earl of Carlingford The marriage was a troubled one, giving constant anxiety to friends and family. The couple seem to have spent much time apart.

Later life

In December 1661 Lord Fingall was one of the signatories of the Catholic Remonstrance and presented the document personally to

, for submission to the king. Litigation over the recovery of his estates before the Court of Claims dragged on for years, causing one of the commissioners for claims to remark that Lord Fingall's case "was suspended between Heaven and earth". He had recovered most of his estates by 1677. Though he had been politically prominent in the 1660s, he seems to have spent his later years in retirement. During the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

Lady Fingall, who was living apart from her husband in London, was named as a Catholic conspirator, but no action was taken against her.

Death and timeline

Fingall died in 1684 and was succeeded by his eldest son Peter.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * – D to F (for Fingall) * – N to R (for Ormond) * – Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat (for Fingall) * * – Scotland and Ireland * * * – (for his father) * – (for timeline) * * – Viscounts, barons * – House of Lords * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fingall, Luke Plunkett, 2rd Earl 1639 births 1684 deaths 17th-century Irish people Earls of Fingall People from County Meath