General Michael O'Brien Dilkes (1698 – August 1775) was a soldier of the British Army.

Biography

He was born in 1698, the son of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Dilkes and his wife Lady Mary, daughter of

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin Murrough MacDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin (September 1614 – 9 September 1673), was an Irish nobleman and soldier, who came from one of the most powerful families in Munster. Known as "''Murchadh na dTóiteán''" ("Murrough the Burner" ...

and widow of Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr. After his father's death in 1707 his mother married a third time, to Colonel John Irwin of

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. Sir Thomas Dilkes was said to be related to the family of Dilke of

Maxstoke Castle Maxstoke Castle is a privately owned moated castle dating from the 14th century, situated to the north of Maxstoke in Warwickshire, England. History It was built by Sir William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1345 to a rectangular plan, ...

. Dilkes joined the Army as a cornet on 12 August 1712, Army List for 1740
p. 68
and, in 1723, he was made captain in the

14th Regiment of Dragoons The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 19 ...

. On 18 April 1728, he was elected to the Irish House of Commons for Castlemartyr, in a by-election following the death of John Fitzgerald. He got leave from his regiment to attend Parliament in 1735-36 and would represent the constituency until the demise of the Crown in 1760. As a military Member of Parliament, Dilkes was mentioned, with Henry Clements and William Harrison, in Jonathan Swift's 1736 satirical poem on the Irish House of Commons, ''The Legion Club'' (the title alluding to

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

8:30, where a possessed man says his name is Legion "because many devils were entered in him"):

There sit Clements, Dilkes, and Harrison, How they swagger from their Garrison. Such a Triplet could you tell Where to find on this Side Hell? Harrison, and Dilkes, and Clements, Souse them in their own Excrèments. Every Mischief's in their Hearts, If they fail 'tis Want of Parts.

He was promoted to major in the 14th Dragoons on 14 January 1738, but had left the regiment by 1742. On 14 November 1745 he was promoted colonel.Army List for 1756
p. 3
Dilkes held the posts of Quartermaster-General and Barrack-Master-General of the Forces in Ireland, but after voting alongside his half-brother Henry Boyle against the government in the Money Bill dispute in December 1753 he was deprived of his offices. However, the following year he was promoted to major-general, with seniority of 11 March 1755, and made Governor of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. He was further promoted to lieutenant-general in 1759. In about 1760 he attempted to convert the cemetery at

Bully's Acre Bully's Acre is the site in Ballinalee in County Longford, Ireland where insurrectionists were executed by Lord Cornwallis. The 1798 rebellion was inspired by the United Irishmen against British rule. Britain was united since the 1707 Act of ...

into a botanic garden for the Hospital, but the project was abandoned after the men of

the Liberties The Liberties ( Irish: ''Na Saoirsí'' or occasionally ''Na Libirtí'') is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, separate from the main ci ...

rioted in protest. Dilkes also served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland. He was promoted to full general in 1772 and in 1774 he was appointed colonel of the

50th Regiment of Foot The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment ...

, holding the post until his death in August 1775. On 16 October 1734 Dilkes had married Anne, daughter of Duncan Cummin MD; he was survived by their children Thomas, Henry, John and Mary. The eldest son, Thomas, was serving in America as major of the

49th Regiment of Foot The 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1743. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princess ...

, but the "considerable pecuniary disappointments" he experienced on his father's death obliged him to sell out. Thomas Dilkes was the father of

William Thomas Dilkes William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

, who also became a general.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilkes, Michael OBrien 1698 births 1775 deaths British Army generals Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland 14th King's Hussars officers Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Military personnel from County Cork