Robert Plunkett, 5th Baron Dunsany (died 1559) was an
Anglo-Irish nobleman of the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...
.
Background
He was the only surviving son of
Edward Plunkett, 4th Baron of Dunsany
Edward Plunkett, 4th Baron of Dunsany (died 1521) was an Irish nobleman; he was killed in battle during the Irish Rebellion of 1520–1.
Family
He was the eldest son of John Plunkett, 3rd Baron of Dunsany, and his wife Catherine Hussey, daugh ...
and his wife Amy (or Anny) de Bermingham, daughter of Philip de Bermingham and Ellen Strangeways. His mother died in 1500, suggesting a birth date for Robert in the late 1490s. He succeeded to the title in 1521, when his father was killed while assisting
the Earl of Surrey, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in putting down a rebellion by the O'Connor and O'Carroll families.
[''Burke's Peerage'' 107th Edition (2003), Vol.1 p.1240]
Marriages and children
Robert married firstly Eleanor Darcy, daughter of Sir
William Darcy of Platten and his first wife Margaret St Lawrence. They had at least thirteen children, most of whom survived infancy, including:
*John, who died before his father, leaving an only daughter, Elizabeth;
*Christopher, 6th
Baron of Dunsany
The title Baron of Dunsany or, more commonly, Lord Dunsany, is one of the oldest dignities in the Peerage of Ireland, one of just a handful of 13th- to 15th-century titles still extant, having had 21 holders, of the Plunkett name, to date. Other ...
;
*Gerald, who married Catherine Eustace, daughter of
Thomas Eustace, 1st Viscount Baltinglass
Thomas Eustace, 1st Viscount Baltinglass (-1549) was an Anglo-Irish noble who achieved wealth and influence by prudently remaining loyal to the English Crown. He was born circa 1480 at Caslemartin, County Kildare.
Family
He was the son of ...
;
*Richard;
*Ellen, who married Matthew Begg;
*Jenet, who married James FitzGerald;
*Alison, who married Christopher Plunkett;
*Anne, who married Simon Pettit;
*Mary, who married Richard Luttrell;
*Margaret, who married Walter,
Baron Skryne
Baron Skryne was the title of the holder of an Irish feudal barony: the title derived from the parish of Skryne, or Skreen, in County Meath. It was not recognised as a barony in the Peerage of Ireland, but was habitually used firstly by the de Fey ...
;
*Elizabeth, who married Sir Walter FitzGerald, a younger son of
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 1496 ...
and his second wife Elizabeth St.John.
Dunsany married secondly
Jenet Sarsfield
Jenet Sarsfield, Baroness Dunsany (–1598) was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman who lived in Dublin during the Tudor era. She is chiefly memorable for having married no less than six husbands.
Early life, first two marriages
She was born in County Mea ...
, who had already buried two husbands and was to have six in all. They do not seem to have been married for more than two years when Dunsany died in March 1559; their two sons apparently died in infancy. Despite the brevity of the marriage, Jenet took great pride in her rank as a
baroness
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
: although she made three further marriages, two of them to
knights, she preferred in later life to be called Lady Dunsany, and was buried under that title in a
tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
of her own design.
[Scott, Brendan: ''Career Wives or Wicked Stepmothers?'' (2009) History Ireland, Vol. 1, Issue 1]
Career
During the rebellion of
Silken Thomas
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Thomas FitzGerald
, title = The Earl of Kildare
, image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, ...
, Dunsany, whose daughter Elizabeth was married to Thomas's uncle Walter FitzGerald (who was later executed for his part in the Rebellion), fell under suspicion of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, and in the autumn of 1535, he was denounced to the Crown as a ringleader of the rebellion. His enemies urged that he should be attainted but in the event
Henry VIII, having virtually destroyed the FitzGerald family, including Dunsany's son-in-law Walter, was prepared to be merciful to the other nobles of
the Pale
The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...
, and Dunsany escaped unscathed.
[Ellis, S.G; ''Henry VIII, Rebellion and the Rule of Law'' (1981) ''Historical Journal'' Vol.24, p.513]
His later career suggests that he had regained the Crown's trust. He 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 ...
in the Parliament of 1541; he was one of the nobles who confirmed the election of Sir
Francis Bryan
Sir Francis Bryan (about 1490 – 2 February 1550) was an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of Henry VIII. He was Chief Gentleman of the Privy chamber and Lord Justice of Ireland. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bryan always ret ...
as Governor of Ireland in 1549; and in 1557 he accompanied the Lord Deputy,
Sussex, on an expedition against the McDonnells of
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
.
[Lodge, John and Archdall, Mervyn ''Peerage of Ireland'' Dublin 1789 p.202] He died in 1559 and was succeeded by his second son, Christopher.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunsany, Robert Plunkett, 5th Baron Of
Barons of Dunsany
1559 deaths
16th-century Anglo-Irish people
Year of birth unknown