Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall (1592 – 20 August 1663) of Turvey, County Dublin, was an Irish landowner and politician.

Family history

After the subjection of Ireland in the time of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, Michael de Berneval, who served under

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare (c. 1130 – 20 April 1176), the second Earl of Pembroke, also Lord of Leinster and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Justiciar of Ireland (sometimes known as Richard FitzGilbert), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leadi ...

, obtained large grants of land at

Berehaven Castletownbere (), or Castletown Berehaven, is a port town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the Beara Peninsula by Berehaven Harbour. A regionally important fishing port, the town also serves as a commercial and retail hub for the local hinterl ...

, County Cork, of which the O'Sullivans had been dispossessed. Here the Bernevals flourished in great prosperity until the reign of King John, when the Irish rose against them, and destroyed every member of the family but one, who happened to be in London learning the law. The latter, returning to Ireland, was settled at

Drimnagh Drimnagh () is a suburb in Dublin, Ireland. It lies to the south of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordered by the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12. Drimnagh is in a townland ...

, near Dublin, where his posterity remained until the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

. The family were traditionally Roman Catholic in religion, although after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

the head of the family might find it expedient to conform to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

, at least outwardly, in order to preserve the family estates. Various members of the family distinguished themselves, chiefly in the law and in Parliament.

Life

Nicholas, born in 1592, was the eldest son of Sir Patrick Barnewall of Turvey House,

Donabate Donabate () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin, within the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government area of Fingal. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast ...

. His mother was Mary Bagenal, daughter of Sir

Nicholas Bagenal Sir Nicholas Bagenal (; - February 1591) was an English soldier and politician who became Marshal of the Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Army during the Tudor era. Early life Nicholas Bagenal was born around 1509. He was the second so ...

, knight marshal of Ireland. Turvey was built on the site of Grace Dieu Abbey, which the family received on the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He was educated at the

English College, Douai The English College ( French: ''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppresse ...

and

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. He was thirty years old when his father died in 1622, and he represented

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

in the Parliaments of 1634 and 1639. When the

rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and return of confiscat ...

broke out, he was appointed Governor of County Dublin to command such forces as he could raise, which were to be armed by the state for the defence of County Dublin. However, according to John Lodge's ''Peerage of Ireland'': "...dreading the designs of the Irish, he fled into

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with his wife, several priests, and others, and stayed there till after the cessation of arms was concluded, returning to Captain Bartlett's ship 17 March 1643." A conversation on board this ship with his cousin Susanna Stockdale, reported by Lodge, points to the fact that his sympathies were rather with the

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

in Ireland than the Protestants, Roman Catholic sympathies being traditional in his family, and it is there said that he was very intimately acquainted with some that were near Queen Henrietta Maria of France. It may therefore be that Charles I was influenced by Queen Henrietta in raising Barnewall to the

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron of Turvey and Viscount Barnewall, of Kingsland in the parish of

in the County of Dublin, in 1645, "as being sensible of his loyalty and taking special notice both of his services in Ireland and those of his son Patrick in England." Lord Barnewall died at Turvey on 20 August 1663. He had married in 1617 Lady Bridget FitzGerald, daughter of

Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare (1562 – 30 September 1597) was an Irish peer and soldier. Background Kildare was the second son of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and Mabel Browne. cites His eldest brother died in 1580, and He ...

and Lady Frances Howard and the widow of Rory O'Donnell (also known as

Rudhraighe Ó Domhnaill, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell ( Irish: ''Rudhraighe'' ''Ó Domhnaill''; 1575 – 28 July 1608), was an Irish Gaelic lord and the last lord of Tyrconnell prior to the Plantation of Ulster. He succeeded his older brother Hugh Roe O'Donne ...

). They had five sons and four daughters. He was succeeded by his second son, Henry, 2nd Viscount Barnewall. His daughter Mabel married firstly

Christopher Plunkett, 2nd Earl of Fingall Christopher Plunket, 2nd Earl of Fingall and 11th Baron Killeen (died 1649) was an Irish politician and soldier. In 1641 he negotiated with the rebels on behalf of the Old English of the Pale and pushed them to join the rebellion. He fought f ...

and secondly her cousin Colonel James Barnewall. She died at a great age in 1699. Her sister Mary married

Nicholas Preston, 6th Viscount Gormanston Nicholas Preston, 6th Viscount Gormanston (1606–1643) sat in the House of Lords of the Irish Parliament of 1634–1635 and sided with the insurgents after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Birth and origins Nicholas was born about 1608, the el ...

References

*Lodge, John (1789)
"Barnewall, Viscount Kingsland"
''The Peerage of Ireland'', Volume 5. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnewall, Nicholas 1592 births 1663 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Irish MPs 1639–1649 Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Members of the Irish House of Lords Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Dublin constituencies Peers of Ireland created by Charles I

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...