Robert French (1716–1779) was a

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. Robert French's family was one of

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

. His ancestor Patrick Béag French (died 1630) was one of the two Galwaymen who successfully petitioned James II for a town charter, awarded in 1610. Patrick's great-grandson was Patrick "Silvertongue" French, who conformed to the

Established Church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

and was the Robert's father. Robert French is remembered for being an improving landlord of his estates, centred on

Monivea Monivea () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. Monivea is known for its forest, Monivea Cas ...

in central

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

. He rebuilt the village into its present spacious form, taught new farming techniques to his tenants and stood for election to 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 ...

, a position impossible to aspire to had his father remained Catholic. He represented Galway County from 1753 to 1760, Carrick from 1761 to 1768 and Galway Borough from 1769 to 1776. He married Nicolas, sister of Viscount Gosford, and had issue. He also had seven children by his mistress, Winifred Higgins.

References

* ''A Galway Gentleman in the Age of Improvement: Robert French of Monivea, 1716-76'', Denis A. Cronin, Irish Academic Press, August 1995, * ''Robert French of Monivea'', in ''Galway:History and Society'', 1996 1716 births 1779 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Politicians from County Galway Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Leitrim constituencies {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub