Marcus Hugh Tristram de la Poer Beresford, 7th Baron Decies (born 5 August 1948), is an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer.

Early life

Beresford is the only son of Arthur Beresford, 6th Baron Decies and Diana ( Turner-Cain) Galsworthy. His mother, a widow of Maj. David W. A. Galsworthy, was a daughter of W/Cdr George Turner-Cain. He has two sisters, Sarah Ann Vivien de la Poer Beresford and model Clare Antoinette Gabrielle de la Poer Beresford. His paternal grandfather was

John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies John Graham Hope Horsley de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies PC (5 December 1866 – 31 January 1944), styled The Honourable John Beresford until 1910, was an Anglo-Irish army officer, civil servant, and polo player in the 1900 Summe ...

, a Representative Peer for Ireland who married two American heiresses, his grandmother Helen Gould (daughter of American railroad executive

George Jay Gould I George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW), Western Pacific Railroad (WP), and the Manhatt ...

), and after her death, Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (a daughter of Joseph William Drexel, who had previously been married to

Harry Lehr Henry Symes "Harry" Lehr (March 28, 1869 – January 3, 1929) was an American socialite during the Gilded Age who was dubbed "America's Court Jester". Early life Henry Symes Lehr was born on March 28, 1869. He was the fourth child in a family ...

). When asked how to pronounce his name, his grandfather Lord Decies told ''The

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'': "With ''ci'' as in ''conscience'' it is ''dee-shees'', and Beresford is ''berysford''."

Education and career

He was educated initially at

Aiglon College Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in Switzerland, broadly modelled on British boarding school lines. It is an independent, non-profit school located in the Swiss Alps. It is located 60 km from Lausanne in the alpine vil ...

, Chesières-Villars, Switzerland, and from 1962 to 1967 at

St Columba's College, Dublin St Columba's College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school founded in 1843 located in Whitechurch, County Dublin, Ireland. Among the founders of the college were Viscount Adare (who later became The 3rd Earl of Dunraven and M ...

. He graduated from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, with a Master of Letters (M.Litt.). Beresford practiced as a solicitor and rose to be Chairman of A&L Goodbody, the leading Irish corporate law firm. He was a Fellow of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (abbreviated as CIArb) is a professional organisation representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. Founded on 1 March 1915, it was granted a royal charter by Queen Eliza ...

. He succeeded to the title of 7th Baron Decies, of Decies, County Waterford in 1992.

Other activities

Lord Decies was a Trustee of the Alfred Beit Foundation from 1999 to 2014 and chairman from 2008 to 2014. He is currently a Trustee of the Apollo Foundation. He has also been involved in the world of education being a member of the Boards of

Alexandra College Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...

in Dublin, Hewetson's School in Millicent, Ireland (of which he was chairman from 1992 to 1995), and

, Ireland.

Family

He married, firstly, Sarah Jane Gunnell, daughter of Colonel Basil Gunnell on 11 April 1970. They divorced in 1974. He remarried in 1981 to Edel Jeannette Hendron. Since 1989 the couple have resided in

Straffan Straffan (variously ''Teach Srafáin'', ''Strafáin'' or ''An Cluanini'' in Irish) is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, situated on the banks of the River Liffey, 25 km upstream of the Irish capital Dublin. As of the 2016 census, the v ...

, County Kildare, and have four children:Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 1063. * Hon. Louisa Katherine de la Poer Beresford (b. 1984) * Hon. Robert Marcus Duncan de la Poer Beresford (b. 1988) * Hon. David George Morley Hugh de la Poer Beresford (b. 1991) * Hon. Jessica Laragh de la Poer Beresford (b. 1996)

Interests

The couple are equine enthusiasts, and trained racehorses locally with Arthur Moore for many years. His wife is a keen sportswoman who fly-fishes for Ireland and is involved with numerous charitable causes, including the Irish Haemophilia Society. He has an enduring interest in history stimulated by his ancestors,

William Beresford, 1st Baron Decies William Beresford, 1st Baron Decies (16 April 1743 – 6 September 1819) was an Anglo-Irish clergyman. Early life Decies was the third son, out of seven sons and eight daughters, of Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone (himself the only son of ...

(1743–1819), who was the Archbishop of Tuam, and General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, PC (1768–1854), who was a general in 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 ...

and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army; he fought alongside The Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance in 1828 in Wellington's first ministry. In 2019 the Irish Academic Press published his biography of the General. Beresford is a member of both the Irish and British Commissions for Military History. He is Chairman of the Trustees of the British Cemetery, Elvas, a member of the Friends of the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

and the Waterford Historical Society.

Bibliography

Journals * "Ireland in French strategy 1691-1789", Post Graduate thesis (M.Litt.) * "

François Thurot François Thurot (22 July 1727 at Nuits-Saint-Georges near Dijon in eastern France – 28 February 1760 off the Isle of Man) was a French privateer, merchant naval captain and smuggler who raided British shipping during the Seven Years' War. E ...

and the French attack at Carrickfergus, 1759-60", ''

The Irish Sword ''The Irish Sword'' is the official journal of the Military History Society of Ireland containing articles on the military history of Ireland, book reviews, notes, notices, queries, illustrations and proceedings. It includes information on subje ...

, X (41), 255-74. * "Ireland in French Strategy during the American War of Independence, 1776-83", ''The Irish Sword'', XII (49), 285-97 and XIII (50), 20-29. * "William Carr Beresford and the capture of the Cape Colony and the expedition to the River Plate 1805-1806", ''The Irish Sword'' XXIX (P. 240 – 262) * " Francois Thurot, the Irish connection", ''Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society'', LXXVIII (1973), 143-50. * "The Peninsular romance of Lieutenant Waldron Kelly and Ana Ludovina de Aguilar", ''The Irish Sword'', XXXII (129) 2020, 299–316. Books * "Marshal William Carr Beresford: ‘The ablest man I have yet seen with the army’ () 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decies, Marcus Beresford, 7th Baron 1948 births Living people Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Irish people of American descent People from County Kildare Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Marcus Alumni of Aiglon College