Mervyn Edward Archdale (27 January 1812 – 22 December 1895) (known as Mervyn Edward Archdall until 1875), was an Irish soldier, High Sheriff and MP. He was born the eldest son of Edward Archdall of Riversdale, County Fermanagh, who had been Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1813. He was educated at private schools in England and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, where he matriculated in 1830 but did not graduate. He joined the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, becoming a cornet in 1832, a lieutenant in 1835 and a captain in 1841. He retired on half pay in 1847. In 1834 was elected the

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 ...

for

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

following the retirement of his uncle Mervyn Archdall. He was returned unopposed in the following nine elections, sitting until 1874. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Fermanagh The High Sheriff of Fermanagh is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Fermanagh. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides h ...

for 1879. In 1857 he inherited the family seat of Castle Archdale and Trillick in County Tyrone from his uncle William Archdall. He was a noted member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

and became treasurer of the grand lodge of Ireland. He also kept racehorses. He died in 1895 at Cannes in the south of France. He had married Emma Inez, the daughter of Jacob Goulding of Kew, Surrey, with whom he had two sons, Mervyn Henry and Hugh James and three daughters. His estates passed to his brother,

William Humphrys Archdale William Humphrys Archdall (6 June 1813 - 23 June 1899), also known as Archdale, was an Irish Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1885. Archdall was the son of Edward Archdall of Riversdale and Castle Archdale and ...

, who also took over the representation of Fermanagh in Parliament.

References

Dictionary of Irish Biography - Archdale, Mervyn Edward by C. J. Woods

External links

* 1812 births 1895 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Fermanagh constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 Deputy Lieutenants of Fermanagh High Sheriffs of County Fermanagh {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub