Nicholas Browne, 2nd Viscount Kenmare (c.1660 – 1720) was an Irish Jacobite politician and soldier.

Early life and family

Browne was the son of Sir Valentine Browne, Bt and Jane Plunkett, the heiress of Sir Nicholas Plunkett. Browne married his cousin, Helen Browne, on 23 March 1684. Through this marriage, he inherited a considerable estate from his father-in-law, Thomas Browne of Hospital. In 1687, Browne served as High Sheriff of County Cork. Browne's father was created Viscount Kenmare in the

Peerage of Ireland 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 ...

on 20 May 1689 by James II, after his deposition by the English Parliament, but while he still possessed his rights as

King of Ireland Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. This continued in all of Ireland until 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act removed most of Ireland's residual ties to the British monarch. Northern Ireland, as p ...

Williamite War in Ireland

In 1689, Browne was elected as a Member of Parliament for

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

in the short-lived

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

summoned by James II. Browne raised a regiment, of which he was colonel, in support of the Jacobite cause during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

. He served under the Franco-Jacobite commander, the Marquis de Boisseleau, during the early part of the war. In March 1690 Browne and his regiment were garrisoned in Cork and participated as defenders in the

Siege of Cork The siege of Cork took place during the Williamite war in Ireland in the year of 1690 in Ireland, 1690. It happened shortly after the Battle of the Boyne during James II of England, James II's attempt to retake the English throne from William ...

. A request for the regiment to pass into French service under Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel was rejected by James II. Following the Jacobite defeat, in 1691 Browne was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

alongside his father, forfeiting his estate for life.

Exile

Browne left Ireland for exile in 1691, living first in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and then in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1694 his father died, and Browne inherited his viscountcy and baronetcy, although Browne's claim on these titles was not recognised outside Jacobite circles owing to the timing of its creation and the act of attainder.Despite the title remaining on the Irish patent roll, the viscountcy was not recognised by the Protestant establishment in Ireland as it was created after James II vacated the English throne. From exile, Browne corresponded regularly with his son, Valentine Browne, and associates in Ireland, attempting to secure the seized family estates for Valentine. He died in Brussels in 1720 and was interred in the Church of St Nicholas in the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenmare, Nicholas Browne, 2nd Viscount 1660 births 1720 deaths 17th-century Irish nobility Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland

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 ...

High sheriffs of County Cork Irish Jacobites Irish MPs 1689 Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kerry constituencies People from Kenmare Viscounts in the Jacobite peerage Politicians from County Kerry Military personnel from County Kerry