Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Montague James Mathew (18 August 1773 – 19 March 1819) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

soldier and politician, a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of 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 ...

for

Ballynakill Ballinakill () is a small village in County Laois, Ireland on the R432 regional road between Abbeyleix, Ballyragget and Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census, there were 445 people living in Ballinakill. History From 1613 unti ...

until 1800 and of the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

for

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

from 1806 until his death in 1819. In politics, he was both a Whig and a supporter of

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

and other Roman Catholic causes, which brought him into conflict with many members of his class in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Life

Mathew was the second son of

Francis Mathew, 1st Earl Landaff Francis Mathew, 1st Earl Landaff (September 1738 – 30 July 1806) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Mathew was the only son and heir of Thomas and Mary Mathew. His father's family had settled in Ireland from Wales a generation before. He ...

. He was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in 1792, became a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1793, and on 13 September 1794 was promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in the 114th Foot, a new regiment raised that year by his father. He was further promoted

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1800,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 25 April 1808, and

on 4 June 1813.John Phillippart, ''The royal military calendar'' (Printed by A. J. Valpy, 1815
p. 216
/ref>Arthur Aspinall, ed., ''The later correspondence of George III'' (1966)
p. 12
/ref> From 1797 to 1800, Mathew was a member of the

for

in what was then Queen's County, succeeding

Eyre Coote Eyre Coote may refer to: *Eyre Coote (East India Company officer) (1726–1783), Irish soldier and Commander-in-chief of India *Eyre Coote (British Army officer) (1762–1823), Irish-born general in the British Army * Eyre Coote (MP) (1806–1834), ...

. In 1806, Mathew was proposed as a member of

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 ...

Kildare Street Club The Kildare Street Club is a historical member's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy. The Club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club to become ...

but was blackballed by no fewer than eighty-five members, so was rejected. His brother

Francis Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff Francis James Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff Order of St Patrick, KP (20 January 1768 – 12 March 1833), styled The Honourable Francis Mathew from 1783 to 1797 and Viscount Mathew from 1797 to 1806, was an Irish peer and politician. Mathew sat for Ti ...

, denounced the "eighty-five scoundrels", who he claimed had all promised him they would give his brother their support, and stalked out of the club, never to return. The Three Mr Wigginses

Mathew was first elected as a Member of the

for

in November 1806, succeeding his brother Francis when he became an

Irish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, and held the seat until his death in 1819. In politics, he was a Whig. On 22 January 1808, the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

, wrote to the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

: On 5 May 1808, Mathew urged Wellesley and Perceval's government to increase its financial support for

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, reminding them of a recent offer made by order of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

to encourage Irish students to go from

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for their education and promising them financial assistance. In 1809, the magazine ''Select reviews'' reported that On 6 June 1811 Mathew was appointed Colonel of the

99th Foot The 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1824. It amalgamated with the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) in 1881. History Formation The ...

. In 1815 the parliamentary sketch-writer Thomas Barnes wrote of Mathew that he showed "...all the characteristic fervour of his countrymen in favour of the cause of the

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, but at the same time evinces a blindness of blundering greater than even foolish illiberality ever ascribed to his nation". Mathew never married. He died suddenly, and

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

, at Castle Fogerty,

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

, County Tipperary, on 19 March 1819. He was buried at his ancestral home, Thomastown in the parish of Kilfeacle. Of his death it was later recorded that he was "one of the last of the four-bottle men in the county", and that he had died at dinner.Patrick Rogers, ''Father Theobald Mathew: apostle of temperance'' (Browne and Nolan Ltd., 1943), p. xix: "Major General Montagu Mathew, one of the last of the four-bottle men in the county, died at dinner in 1819 at Castle Fogarty." A distant relation noted in 1890:

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathew, Montague James 1773 births 1819 deaths British Army generals Irish MPs 1798–1800 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Queen's County constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tipperary constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 Younger sons of earls