Sir John Esmonde, 10th Baronet (16 May 1826 – 9 December 1876) was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1852 until his death 25 years later.

Early life and family

Esmonde was the son of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer James Esmonde and his wife Anna Maria ( Murphy). He was educated at

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

and at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he graduated in 1850 with an honours degree in classics. He was called to the bar of Ireland in the same year. In 1861 he married Louisa Grattan, the fourth daughter of

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

MP, and granddaughter of 18th-century parliamentary leader

. They had four sons and two daughters,

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Laurence Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...

, Walter, John, Ellice, and Annette. In 1868, he inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and estates of his uncle

Career

He was elected at the 1852 general election as one of the two members of parliament (MPs) for County Waterford. Both Esmonde and his fellow Waterford MP

Nicholas Mahon Power Nicholas Mahon Power (1787 – 1873) was an Irish nationalist politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1847 to 1859. Career Nicholas Mahon Power was among the principal lessors in the parishes of Ballynakill and Fa ...

were elected as candidates of the

Irish Liberal Party The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning as an alliance of Whigs, free trade–supporting Peelites and reformist ...

, which had been in alliance with nationalists. Power was accused of acting "selfishly and parsimoniously" towards Esmonde, who was described at the time as hoisting "

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

and liberal colours". Esmonde's election was the subject of a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

by the defeated

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate Richard Hely-Hutchinson, who alleged

personation Personation (rather than ''im''personation) is a primarily- legal term, meaning 'to assume the identity of another person with intent to deceive'. It is often used for the kind of voter fraud where an individual votes in an election, whilst pret ...

and intimidation. The names of people who were not entitled to vote were struck off the return, but Esmonde's election was upheld. The alliance of nationalists and liberals faltered after the election, and Esmonde was one of 40 Irish Liberals who transferred their support to the new

Independent Irish Party The Independent Irish Party (IIP) was the designation chosen by the 48 Members of the United Kingdom Parliament returned from Ireland with the endorsement of the Tenant Right League in the general election of 1852. The League had secured their ...

. The new party foundered, and Esmonde was re-elected as a Liberal at the next 4 general elections. In January 1866, Esmonde was appointed as

High Sheriff of Wexford The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sherif ...

. On 2 June, he was appointed by as a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

Earl Russell Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 July 1861 for the prominent Liberal politician Lord John Russell. He was Home Secretary from 1835 to 1839, Foreig ...

. As an

office of profit An office of profit means a position that brings to the person holding it some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. It may be an office or place of profit if it carries some remuneration, financial advantage, benefit etc. It is a term used in ...

under

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, the Parliamentary rules of the time required him to seek re-election, and on 9 June he was returned unopposed. However, his time in office was short, because Russell's government fell before the end of June, to be replaced by a

Conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...

. In 1869, he was appointed as a deputy lieutenant of County Wexford, succeeding his uncle

. Described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' newspaper of London as a "zealous and attached member of the Roman Catholic communion", Esmonde was listed in 1869 as one of 50 Catholic baronets, and 38 Catholic MPs. He was one of the speakers at a rally in Dublin in November 1870 to protest at the loss of the temporal power of the Pope. At the 1874 general election, he was returned again for Waterford, this time as a candidate of the newly reconstituted Home Rule Party. He died in office two years later, aged 50. Esmonde had also been a justice of the peace for counties

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

, and

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

, a captain in the Wexford

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. His parliamentary seat was won at the resulting by-election by the Home Rule candidate James Delahunty, and he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esmomde, John, 10th Baraonet 1826 births 1876 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Waterford constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Royal Irish Academy Irish Liberal Party MPs Irish Parliamentary Party MPs UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 People educated at Clongowes Wood College Alumni of Trinity College Dublin High Sheriffs of Wexford Deputy Lieutenants of Wexford

Early life and family

Career

See also

References

External links