Oliver Grace, of Shanganagh, (now Gracefield) was chosen in 1689 as the representative in Parliament of the borough of

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 ...

, in the Queen's County, Ireland.

Political career

Oliver Grace was Chief Remembrancer of the Irish Exchequer and a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of King James II. Although a supporter of Catholic King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland, Oliver Grace was trusted and respected by the Protestant Landed Gentry of Queen's County. When the

Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

held the upper hand in Ireland, several large Protestant estates were assigned over to him in trust whose proprietors relied solely on his honor for their restoration. When the forces of William of Orange ultimately triumphed, Irish Protestants prevailed on King William III to grant Oliver Grace a pardon for his adherence to

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

, which he received on 21 May 1696.

Ancestry and family

Oliver Grace's 3rd great-grandfather, Sir Oliver Grace, was Knight of Ballylinch and Legan Castles,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Lord of Carney, Tipperary, and Member of Parliament (MP) for that county in 1559. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Lord Decies, by his wife Ellice, daughter of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde. Oliver Grace married Elizabeth, only surviving child of John Bryan, of Bawnmore,

, and by her had issue: * Michael, his heir, who died on 19 November 1760 * Robert * Sheffield, who died in 1699 * Lettice, who married John Grace, feudal baron of Courtstown * Anne, married first, to Richard, eldest son of Sir Richard Nagle, Secretary of State for Ireland, ''temp.'' James II; married secondly, Edmond Butler, 8th Lord Dunboyne, and was mother of the 9th, 10th, and 12th lords * Ellis, or Alicia, who married Samuel Gale, of the Ashfield Gales, Queen's County Oliver Grace died on 8 June 1708 and is buried in the south wing of Arles Church (or Grace's Chapel) of which he was the founder.Brewer, ''The Beauties of Ireland: Being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Biographical, of Each County, Volume 2'', p. 120 Oliver's descendants included the Grace baronets from 1818 to 1977.

References

Ancestry

Family Links

On Grace Depend, Descendants of Oliver Grace

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Oliver Year of birth uncertain 1700s deaths Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Queen's County constituencies Irish MPs 1689 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland