The family of Lally (also ''O'Lally'' or ''O'Mullally'') were an Irish family originally from Tuam,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, who distinguished themselves in the service of the

Jacobite pretenders Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

and in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

army.

Titles

Gerard Lally Sir Gerald or Gerard Lally or O'Mullally (? in Tuam, County Galway – 1737) was an Irish conservative and French military officer. He was the second son of Thomas Lally (or O'Mullally) of Tullaghnadaly, by his wife, Jane, sister of Theobald D ...

was appointed a Baronet in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

by the titular King James III and VIII (the "Old Pretender") on 7 July 1707. He was succeeded by his son, Thomas Arthur, who took part in the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

. Upon his return to France in 1746, he was appointed Earl of Moenmoyne, Viscount Ballymole and Baron Tollendally, in the Peerage of Ireland, by the

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

claimant. These titles were never recognised by the government in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

(''see Jacobite peerage''). In about 1755, he was also named Comte de Lally and Baron de Tollendal by King

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, although this may have been merely a recognition of his Jacobite title.

Execution

Lally was executed in 1766, but formally pardoned posthumously in 1778. A legend about his execution circulated in the following years, resurrected by A.C.H. Smith in his 2000 novel ''The Dangerous Memoir of Citizen Sade''. Herein, the author had the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

remembering that before the introduction of the guillotine ''we were burned, or impaled, or broken, when it was our right as noblemen to demand the axe, until they botched Lally-Tollendal and he danced around for half a minute trying to hold his head on.''

Heir

His only son, Trophime Gérard, was an '' émigré'' during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, but after the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

was named (21 March 1815) Marquis de Lally-Tollendal and a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

. He died on 11 March 1830, whereupon all titles passed to his daughter's estate.

Baronets (1707)

* Sir Gerard Lally, 1st Baronet (died 1737) * Sir Thomas Arthur Lally, 2nd Baronet (1702-1766), created Earl of Moenmoyne in 1746

Earls of Moenmoyne (1746) and Comtes de Lally (circa 1755)

* Thomas Arthur Lally, 1st Comte de Lally (1702-1766) * Trophime Gérard de Lally, 2nd Comte de Lally (1751-1830), created Marquis de Lally-Tollendal in 1815

Marquis de Lally-Tollendal (1815)