Sir Patrick Bellew, 5th Baronet (c.1726 – 5 March 1795) was an Irish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

activist.

Biography

Bellew was born at

Barmeath Castle Barmeath Castle is a country house near Dunleer in the centre of County Louth. Of note are the castle's 10 acres of gardens designed by the 18th-century landscape architect Thomas Wright. Barmeath Castle was erected in the 15th century and the B ...

, County Louth, the second son of Sir Edward Bellew, 3rd Baronet and Eleanor Moore. In 1750, he inherited the family estate and

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 ...

from his elder brother, Sir John Bellew, 4th Baronet. He was involved in Irish Catholic politics from the early 1760s, petitioning for Catholics to be allowed enter the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1762. By the 1770s, he was a leading figure in the Catholic Committee and he was appointed to its select committee in 1778. That year he visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to lobby for repeal of the Penal Laws against Irish Catholics; this was in part achieved by the passing of the

Papists Act 1778 The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (18 George III c. 60) and was the first Act for Roman Catholic relief. Later in 1778 it was also enacted by the Parliament of Ireland. Before the Act, a number of "Penal laws" ...

. He also helped raise funds for Catholic political activity. In 1783 he presided at two meetings of the Catholic Committee at which he disputed claims that Irish Catholics were opposed to parliamentary reform. Despite his friendship with the Protestant bishop

Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, (1 August 1730 – 8 July 1803), was an 18th-century Anglican prelate. Elected Bishop of Cloyne in 1767 and translated to the see of Derry in 1768, Hervey served as Lord Bishop of Derry until ...

, he was viewed with suspicion by some in the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, who suspected Bellew of supplying the Catholic Committee with arms for an insurrection. In a March 1785 Committee meeting, however, he argued that the committee should concentrate on securing further relief solely through constitutional means. In the early 1790s, he became disillusioned with the Committee and followed

Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare Thomas Browne, 6th Baronet & 4th Viscount Kenmare (April 1726 – 11 September 1795) was an Irish landowner and politician. Family Thomas Browne's father, Valentine Browne, 3rd Viscount Kenmare, Valentine Browne (1695–1736), 5th Baronet ...

in seceding from the organisation in December 1791. He died on 5 March 1795 at his Barmeath Castle home. On 18 August 1756, he married Mary Hore, the daughter and co-heiress of Matthew Hore of County Waterford; they had nine sons and two daughters. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, Edward.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellew, Patrick, 5th Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1795 deaths 18th-century Irish people Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Irish Roman Catholics