Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon PC (Ire) (died 1642) was styled Baron Dillon of Kilkenny-West from 1622 to 1641 and became earl of Roscommon only a year before his death. He supported Strafford, Lord Deputy of Ireland, who appointed him as one of the keepers of the King's seal. Lord Kilkenny-West was in December 1640 for a short while a lord justice of Ireland together with Sir William Parsons.

Birth and origins

Robert was born in Ireland, the eldest son of James Dillon and his wife Eleanor Barnewall. His father would in 1622 become the 1st Earl of Roscommon. His family was

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185. His family held substantial lands in Meath,

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

. Robert's mother, who was also called Helen, was a daughter of

Christopher Barnewall Sir Christopher Barnewall (1522–1575) was a leading Anglo-Irish statesman of the Pale in the 1560s and 1570s. He was the effective Leader of the Opposition in the Irish House of Commons in the Parliament of 1568–71. He is remembered for buil ...

of Turvey House, Dublin. Her family also was

. Robert was one of 13 siblings, who are listed on his father's article.

First marriage

In about 1600 Dillon married Margaret Barry. She was the sixth daughter of

David de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant David Fitz-James de Barry, 18th Baron Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant (1550–1617), sided initially with fitz Maurice, the rebel, in the 1st Desmond rebellion but changed sides and fought against the rebels. He also fought for the crown in the ...

, His wife's family, the de Barrys, were

like his own. Robert and Margaret had three sons: #

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(c. 1605 – 1649), succeeded as the 3rd Earl Roscommon # Lucas, died childless # David, died an infant

Second marriage

About 1610, he married secondly

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

, fourth daughter of

George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon (1540 – 30 December 1604) was an English nobleman. He was a son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole, daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. He was a you ...

, widow of Sir James Stewart (died 1609), son of

Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre (died 8 March 1617) was a Scottish politician, administrator, and judge. Life He was the son of Sir John Stewart of Minto and Margaret Stewart sister of James Stewart of Cardonald Educated with James VI unde ...

. Robert and Dorothy had a son: * Henry (died 1640), died unmarried

Becoming a Protestant

Dillon's parents as well as his first wife were Catholics. His eldest son James was originally raised as a Catholic. Dillon as well as his son James conformed to the established religion some time before his father's ennoblement. His father, however, remained a Catholic.

Lord Kilkenny-West

On 24 January 1620 his father was raised to the peerage with the title of Baron Dillon of Kilkenny-West, in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. in a ceremony performed by the

Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is '' ...

Oliver St. John in the Presence Chamber of

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

on 25 January. On 5 August 1622 Robert's father was further honoured by being made Earl of Roscommon. In consequence of his father's advancement, Robert, the heir apparent, was styled Lord Kilkenny-West, as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

from 1622 to 1641.

Third marriage

He married thirdly Anne, daughter of Sir

William Strode William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in ...

(or Stroud) and widow of

Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott (1568–1622) was an English soldier in the Irish army. He fought to suppress O'Doherty's rebellion at the Siege of Tory Island. Birth and origins Henry was born in 1568, the second son of Thomas Folliott ...

(died 1622). With Anne he had: *

Carey Carey may refer to: Names * Carey (given name), a given name * Carey (surname), a surname ** List of people with surname Carey Places Canada * Carey Group, British Columbia; in the Pacific * Carey Island (Nunavut) in James Bay United Kingdom ...

(1627–1689), became the 5th Earl Roscommon

Later life, death, and timeline

His mother died on 11 October 1628. On 14 July 1634, his father took 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 ...

. On 26 May 1638 a "Robert Lord Dillon" was appointed as one of the keepers of the King's seal. People probably found "Lord Kilkenny-West" cumbersome and called him Lord Dillon instead. Lord Deputy

Christopher Wandesford Christopher Wandesford (24 September 1592 – 3 December 1640) was an English administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1629. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland in the last months of his life. Life Wandesford was ...

died on 3 December 1640. On 15 December Charles I appointed Lord Dillon (i.e. Lord Kilkenny-West) together with Sir William Parsons Lords Justices for Ireland, but Dillon was considered to have been too closely associated with Strafford and was replaced on 30 December. John Borlase was appointed as his successor on 31 December 1640. His father died in March 1641 and he succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Roscommon. He took up his seat at the

on 1 August 1641. Lord Roscommon, as he was finally now, died on 27 August 1642 in

Oxmantown Oxmantown was a suburb on the opposite bank of the Liffey from Dublin, in what is now the city's Northside. It was founded in the 12th century by Vikings or " Ostmen" who had migrated out of Dublin after the arrival of the English, and was origi ...

, a quarter in Dublin's

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * – 1603 to 1642 * – Abdy to Hutchinson (for Dillon) * – Ibbetson to Zouche (for Roscommon) * (for Strafford) * * * – N to R (for Roscommon) * – Scotland and Ireland * – (for timeline) * – 1634 to 1699 * – Viscounts (for Dillon) * * – Banff to Cranstoun (for Blantyre) * * – 1641 to 1643 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roscommon, Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of 1642 deaths 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people Earls of Roscommon People of Elizabethan Ireland Year of birth uncertain