Sir Hercules Langrishe, 1st Baronet (1729 – 1 February 1811) was an Irish politician.

Life and career

He was the only son of Robert Langrishe of

Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

and Anne Whitby, daughter of Jonathan Whitby of Kilcreggan, and educated 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 B.A. in 1763. He was a commissioner of barracks 1766–74, supervisor of accounts 1767–75, commissioner of revenue 1774–1801, and commissioner of excise 1780–1801. After the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

he played no further role in politics. He was first elected to represent

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 fra ...

in May 1761, and sat until he resigned his seat in March 1800. In 1776 he was also returned for

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

, but was declared not duly elected. He was strongly attached to the "unreformed" Parliament, but also supported

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 ...

in his move to make it genuinely independent of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

. He was a strong supporter of relaxation of the Penal Laws against Catholics, and was one of the principal sponsors of the Catholic Relief Act 1793. His views are said to have been influenced by his lifelong friendship with

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...

, who wrote an open "Letter to Sir H. Langrishe" in 1792, encouraging his efforts to secure relief for Catholics from the rigours of the Penal Laws. On 19 February 1777 he was created a

Baronet 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 ...

, of

, in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

. On 27 February 1792, he was appointed to the Irish Privy Council. Though he frequently supported the Government in the Commons, he prided himself on his independence of mind. He was noted for his wide culture and personal charm. In Dublin, he was a member of

Daly's Club Daly's Club, with premises known as Daly's Club House, was a gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, a centre of social and political life between its origins in about 1750 and its end in 1823. History Daly's had its origins in a Chocolate House ...

.T. H. S. Escott, ''Club Makers and Club Members'' (1913)
pp. 329–333
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Family

He married Hannah, the daughter and coheiress of Robert Myhill of Killerney, County Kilkenny, and sister of Jane Myhill, who married Charles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely. He and Hannah had two sons and three daughters. The elder son Robert succeeded as second baronet, and died in 1835, having sat in the Irish parliament as M.P. for

from 1796 to 1800. The second son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was

archdeacon of Glendalough The office of Archdeacon of Glendalough is a senior ecclesiastical role within the Anglican Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, previously the Diocese of Glendalough. As such he was responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy wit ...

dean of Achonry The Dean of Achonry used to be based at the Cathedral Church of St Crumnathy, Achonry (closed in 1997) in the Diocese of Achonry within the united bishopric of Tuam, Killala and Achonry of the Church of Ireland. List of deans of Achonry *1582– ...

, and rector of Newcastle Lyons, and Killishin,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

. Langrishe's daughter Elizabeth married the Reverend Christopher Robinson, Rector of

Granard Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...

, only son of the eminent judge Christopher Robinson and had several children, including Sir Bryan Robinson, who was a judge like his grandfather, and Admiral Hercules Robinson, father of

Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gove ...

. Hercules Langrishe was the great-great-grandfather of Lt Col John Du Plessis Langrishe

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

Arms

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20090601105535/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/irelandcommons.htm * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langrishe, Hercules 1729 births 1811 deaths Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies