Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon (31 May 1849 – 24 December 1926) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

politician and landowner, who helped to found the anti-partition

Irish Dominion League The Irish Dominion League was an Irish political party and movement in Britain and Ireland which advocated Dominion status for Ireland within the British Empire, and opposed partition of Ireland into separate southern and northern jurisdictions ...

and was a key figure in the development of Irish cooperative agriculture.

Family and education

Thomas Spring Rice was the eldest son of Hon. Stephen Spring Rice (1814–1865) and his wife, Ellen Frere. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He became 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon in 1866 on the death of his grandfather, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer

Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon, (8 February 17907 February 1866) was a British Whig politician, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839. Background Spring Rice was born into a notable Anglo-Irish fami ...

, as his father predeceased him in 1865. Spring Rice became an active member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and spent much of his time at

Mount Trenchard House Mount Trenchard House is an Irish stately home located near Foynes, County Limerick, overlooking the River Shannon. It was the ancestral seat of the Rice, and subsequently Spring Rice, family. The estate was originally granted to Francis Trenc ...

in County Limerick, from where he managed his estates. He also owned property in London. In 1872 he attended a "General Meeting of the members and friends of the Irish Society for Women's Suffrage" in

Blackrock, County Dublin Blackrock () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. Location and access Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. ...

. On 26 October 1875, Spring Rice married Elizabeth Butcher (d. 27 April 1908), the oldest daughter of the Most Rev.

Rt. Hon. ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

Samuel Butcher,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Unti ...

, in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. Together they had three children, who were brought up to speak fluent Irish. *Stephen Edmond Spring Rice (1877-1900), died in London of a fever contracted while returning from Australia *

Mary Spring Rice Mary Ellen Spring Rice (14 September 1880 – 1 December 1924) was an Irish nationalist activist during the early 20th century.Thomas Spring Rice (1883–1934), died unmarried. His eldest son predeceased him, therefore he was succeeded in his

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

by his youngest son. After his son died without an heir in 1934, his peerage passed onto Thomas' brother, Francis Spring Rice (1852–1937). Their sister was the poet,

Lucy Knox Lucy Knox (9 November 1845 – 10 May 1884), styled The Honourable from 1870 until her death, was an Anglo-Irish poet of the Victorian era. Knox was born as Lucy Spring Rice in Hither Green, Lewisham, the second daughter of Stephen Spring Rice ...

. Lord Monteagle was a cousin of Sir Cecil Spring Rice, British Ambassador to the United States from 1912 to 1918.

Politics

Portrait of Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle P4950

Like his grandfather, Lord Monteagle was a moderate unionist when he assumed his seat in the House of Lords. He was initially a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and in 1885 wrote a pamphlet entitled ''Liberal Policy in Ireland''. The following year he became a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

out of a fear that Gladstone's 1886 Home Rule bill would lead to full independence for Ireland, and the dissolution of the United Kingdom. As a consequence, Lord Monteagle sat with the peers of the

Irish Unionist Alliance The Irish Unionist Alliance (IUA), also known as the Irish Unionist Party, Irish Unionists or simply the Unionists, was a unionist political party founded in Ireland in 1891 from a merger of the Irish Conservative Party and the Irish Loyal and ...

and he became a leading figure among moderate Southern Unionists. As a resident of Ireland he witnessed the deterioration of the political situation during the 1890s. He gradually became of the opinion that unionists had to recognise that in order to protect the Union, a compromising and workable agreement would need to be reached with Irish nationalists. In 1911, he was a founding member, and later president, of the Proportional Representation Society of Ireland, believing that

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

would help to prevent conflict between unionists and nationalists in a self-governing Ireland. In 1917, he helped to arrange the

Irish Convention The Irish Convention was an assembly which sat in Dublin, Ireland from July 1917 until March 1918 to address the ''Irish question'' and other constitutional problems relating to an early enactment of self-government for Ireland, to debate its wid ...

, using his personal connections to ensure that the interests of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

were represented after the party leadership refused to attend. The same year, he publicly identified himself as a moderate who still believed in the principle of Union but recognised that it was not working for the majority of Irishmen. He was anxious that Ireland should not be

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...

and in 1919 he left the fractured Unionist Alliance to join the

. The League was under the leadership of his close friend and cooperative colleague,

Sir Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

. He subsequently became chairman of the London branch of the League, and attempted to encourage

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

's government to grant dominion status to a united Ireland in line with the League's views. In June 1920 he arranged meetings between representatives of the British government and the nationalist

George Gavan Duffy George Gavan Duffy (21 October 1882 – 10 June 1951) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge who served as President of the High Court from 1946 to 1951, a Judge of the High Court from 1936 to 1951 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from J ...

. A month later he proposed the Dominion of Ireland Bill in the House of Lords, at the same time as the government's Government of Ireland Bill was being debated in the British parliament. His bill would have granted extensive home rule to a united Ireland, with responsibility over all domestic matters as a dominion within the empire. Monteagle argued that the foreign affairs and defence of Ireland should, however, remain the responsibility of the Westminster government. Opposed by both the

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 i ...

Earl of Dunraven Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (usually referred to as Earl of Dunraven) was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 February 1822 for Valentine Quin, 1st Viscount Mount-Earl. Quin had already been created a Baronet, of Adare ...

, who argued for a federal union through devolution, and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

peers supporting the government's own bill, Monteagle's bill was defeated at second reading on 1 July 1920, by 28 votes for to 41 votes against. He caused indignation in the unionist community in Ireland when, in a February 1920 letter to ''

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'' (fou ...

'', he called for an end to the deportation and internment without trial of recently elected Sinn Féin politicians.

Honours and appointments

Lord Monteagle was appointed a Knight of the

Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

on 9 February 1885; his armorial banner hangs in St Patrick's Hall,

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

alongside those of other knights. He served as the Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Limerick. He was a founder of the

Irish Agricultural Organisation Society The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS) was an agricultural association in Ireland which advocated, and helped to organise, agricultural cooperativism, including mutual credit facilities. From its establishment by Sir Horace Plunkett ...

alongside Plunkett, succeeding him as president of the society, and was a proponent of

agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...

economics.Timothy G. McMahon, ''Grand Opportunity: The Gaelic Revival and Irish Society, 1893–1910'' (Syracuse University Press, 2008), 172. He was president of the

Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland The Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI) is a learned society which analyses the major changes that have taken place in population, employment, legal and administrative systems and social services in Ireland. It operates as ...

between 1882 and 1884.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monteagle of Brandon, Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron 1849 births 1926 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 19th-century Anglo-Irish people 20th-century Anglo-Irish people 2 British cooperative organizers Deputy Lieutenants of Limerick Irish Anglicans Irish Dominion League Irish Unionist Party politicians Knights of St Patrick Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Liberal Unionist Party peers People educated at Harrow School Protestant Irish nationalists

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland