Sir Lucius Henry O'Brien, 3rd Baronet PC (Ire) (2 September 1731 – 15 January 1795) was an Irish baronet and politician for 34 years.
He was a man of quite different parts to his father, an intellectual, a Greek and Latin scholar and a brilliant politician. He entered S.C. at Trinity College Dublin, on 9 July 1748, at the age of sixteen. He became a B.A. Vernon in 1752. Joined the Irish bar in 1758, and succeeded his father, as 3rd Baronet of Dromoland, becoming a Privy councillor and M.P.
Background
O'Brien was the son of
Sir Edward O'Brien, 2nd Baronet
Sir Edward O'Brien, 2nd Baronet (7 April 1705 – 26 November 1765) was an Irish politician and baronet.
Life
Born in England in 1705, he was the eldest surviving child of Lucius O'Brien (1675–1717 d.v.p) and Catherine Keightley (1676- ...
and his wife Mary Hickman, inheriting the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1765. He was educated at
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
and entered the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
in 1753, later becoming a barrister.
Career
In 1761, he entered the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...
as the member for
Ennis
Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...
, sitting until 1768. Subsequently, O'Brien successfully ran for
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, a seat previously held by his father, holding it until 1776. He was then again elected for Ennis, but following the unseating of Hugh Dillon Massy as Member of Parliament for Clare, O'Brien returned to represent that constituency in 1778. In the election of 1783, he became the representative for
Tuam
Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
. O'Brien was sworn of the
Privy Council of Ireland
His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
in 1786. He served for the latter constituency until 1790, when he was re-elected for Ennis. He held this seat finally until his death in 1795.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1773.
In 1787 he was appointed a Privy Counsellor and from 1788 to 1795 was
Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper
The Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper was a civil servant within the Irish Chancery in the Dublin Castle administration. His duties corresponded to the offices of Clerk of the Crown and Clerk of the Hanaper in the English Chancery. Latterly, the ...
in the
Irish Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court which exercised equitable jurisdiction in Ireland until its abolition as part of the reform of the court system in 1877. It was the court in which the Lord Chancellor of Ireland presided. Its final sitting place ...
.
Family
O'Brien married Anne French, the daughter of Robert French, in 1768 and had by her seven children, three sons and four daughters. He was succeeded in the baronetcy as well as in the constituency of Ennis by his oldest son
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
.
His grandson James FitzGerald (1818–1896) was a prominent politician in New Zealand.