St Leger St Leger, Ist Viscount Doneraile, 2nd creation, (born St Leger Aldworth; died 15 May 1787), was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer, made infamous by his conviction for assaulting a Catholic priest, and for challenging the prosecuting counsel, the barrister

John Philpot Curran John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, wit, lawyer and judge, who held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland. He was renowned for his representation in 1780 of Father Neale, a Catholic pri ...

, to a duel. Doneraile Court - geograph

Life and career

He was the son of Richard Aldworth by his wife Elizabeth St Leger, a daughter of

Arthur St Leger, 1st Viscount Doneraile Arthur St Leger, 1st Viscount Doneraile (died 7 July 1727) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. St Leger was the son of John St. Leger and his first wife Lady Mary Chichester, the daughter of Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall and his fir ...

(d.1727), of the first creation (1703) of that title. He was given the name of St Leger Aldworth at birth, but he legally changed his surname to St Leger on 9 May 1767, so that he become known as St Leger St Leger, as a condition of succeeding to the Doneraile estates in County Cork upon the death of his childless uncle, Hayes St Leger, 4th Viscount Doneraile. Like several other members of his family, he served in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

as the Member of Parliament for

Doneraile Doneraile (), historically Dunerayl, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the R581 regional road east of the N20 road, which runs from Limerick to Cork. It is about north of Mallow town. It is on the River Awbeg, a branch of the ...

, sitting between 1749 and 1776. On 2 July 1776, St Leger was created Baron Doneraile in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. On 5 January 1785, the title previously held by his maternal relations was recreated for his benefit so that so that St Leger St Leger is known as the 1st Viscount Doneraile. 2nd creation. In 1780, St Leger found himself in the County Cork Assizes facing

, counsel for an elderly Catholic priest. Father Neale had announced the excommunication of an adulterous parishioner who happened be the brother of St Leger's mistress. St Leger rode to the priest’s house and demanded that he withdraw the sanction. When the priest explained that it could be lifted only by his bishop, St Leger thrashed him with his horsewhip. He also whipped the ageing housekeeper who interceded on the priest's behalf. St Leger would have acted in the belief that no jury, which under the existing Penal Laws would be all Protestant, would rule against him in a suit pressed by a Catholic. In cross examination Curran demolished the credibility of Doneraile's witnesses and persuaded the jury to set aside sectarian consideration and find for his client. The jury awarded Father Neale 30

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

. St Leger challenged Curran to a duel, in which St Leger fired and missed. Curran declined to fire.

Marriage, children and succession

He married Mary Barry, the daughter of Redmond Barry, and together they had six children, including Hayes St Leger.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Doneraile, St Leger St Leger, 1st Viscount Year of birth unknown 1787 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies