Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely (11 September 1738 – 12 November 1769) 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 ...

peer, briefly styled Viscount Loftus in October 1766. He represented the constituency of Fethard, County Wexford in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

from 1759 to 1766. He was the subject of a notorious legal case regarding his mental capabilities. Family members testified that he was of normal intelligence, and that any eccentric behaviour should be blamed on his father's ill-treatment of him. He became

Earl of Ely Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of L ...

on the death of his father,

Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely PC (I) (1708 – 31 October 1766) was an Anglo-Irish peer and member of the House of Lords. He was the son of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby, daughter of William Ponsonby, 1st Visc ...

, in 1766, and assumed his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

. When he died the earldom became extinct but his other titles were inherited by his uncle.

References

, - 1769 deaths 1738 births 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies {{Ireland-earl-stub