Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim (25 November 1732 – 27 July 1804)Collen, G.W. (1840)
''Debrett's Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland''
London. p. 444. Accessed 5 February 2020. was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nobleman and politician. Son of Cavan Borough MP

Nathaniel Clements Nathaniel Clements (1705 – May 1777) was an Irish politician and financial figure, important in the political and financial administration of Ireland in the mid-18th century. Early history Clements was the fifth son of Robert Clements (1664� ...

, Deputy Vice Treasurer and Teller of the Irish Exchequer, Clements served as

High Sheriff of Leitrim The High Sheriff of Leitrim was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Leitrim, Ireland from c.1582 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Leitrim County Sheriff. The sheriff h ...

in 1759, having been the previous year appointed as Controller of the Great and Small Customs for the Port of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. In 1765, he was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for Donegal County, exchanging this seat for that of Carrick in 1768. In the former year he also married Lady Elizabeth Skeffington, eldest daughter of Clotworthy Skeffington, 1st Earl of Massereene. He was subsequently Commissioner of the Revenue between 1772 and 1773, and three years later returned MP for Donegal County again. Having been appointed governor of

Counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Leitrim and Donegal in 1777 and 1781 respectively, Clements was ennobled as ''Baron Leitrim, of Manor Hamilton'' in 1783. He was subsequently created ''Viscount Leitrim'' in 1794, and ''Earl of Leitrim'' in 1795. In 1801, he was elected as one of the original Irish

representative peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

,Cook, C. & Stevenson, J. (1980). ''British Historical Facts 1760-1830''. London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd. p. 52. and was admitted to the Irish

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 ...

the following year. Lord Leitrim died aged 71 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and was buried in

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leitrim, Robert Clements, 1st Earl Of 1732 births 1804 deaths Peers of Ireland created by George III Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Members of the Irish House of Lords Irish representative peers High Sheriffs of Leitrim Politicians from County Leitrim Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Leitrim constituencies Earls of Leitrim