Earl of Kilmorey () is a title 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 ...

. It was created in 1822 for Francis Needham, 12th Viscount Kilmorey, a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and former

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

. He was made Viscount Newry and Mourne, in the County of Down, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The title of Viscount Kilmorey was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1625 for Sir Robert Needham, Member of Parliament for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, and

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...

in 1606. His son, the second Viscount, represented

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

in Parliament and supported King Charles I during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. His younger son, the fourth Viscount (who succeeded his elder half-brother), also fought as a Royalist in the Civil War. His great-great-grandson was the twelfth Viscount, who was created Earl of Kilmorey in 1822. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He also represented Newry in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. His grandson, the third Earl, (son of Francis Jack Needham, Viscount Newry) was briefly Member of Parliament for Newry and sat in 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 ...

as an

Irish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

from 1881 to 1915. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, served as

Lord Lieutenant of County Down This is a list of '' lords lieutenants of County Down''. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1831. Governors * Br ...

and as

Vice-Admiral of Ulster This is a list of the vice-admirals of Ulster, a province in the north of Ireland. Prior to 1585, the whole of Ireland was served by a single vice-admiral, namely: the 3rd Earl of Sussex (1558–1565); the 11th Earl of Kildare (1564–1573); an ...

and Commanding Officer of HMS ''Caroline'', Ulster Division Royal Naval Reserve. Lord Kilmorey was also an Irish Representative Peer from 1916 to 1961, becoming the last surviving Irish Representative Peer to sit in the House of Lords. He was succeeded by his nephew, the fifth Earl. He was the son of Major the Hon. Francis Edward Needham, second son of the third Earl. the titles are held by the fifth Earl's eldest son, the sixth Earl, who succeeded in 1977. He does not use his titles and did not use his courtesy title of Viscount Newry and Mourne which he was entitled to from 1969 to 1977, and is known as Sir Richard Needham. He is a former

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 ...

government minister. The Needham estate, known as Mourne Park, is near Kilkeel in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

in Northern Ireland but the title and estate were separated when the fifth Earl inherited the title but opted to live in

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 ...

. The Needham estate or Mourne Park is now owned by the Anley family, descendants of the 4th Earl of Kilmorey.PRONI Introduction Kilmorey Papers November 2007 The house was badly damaged by fire on 18 May 2013.

Viscounts Kilmorey (1625)

Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kilmorey Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kilmorey (c. 1565 – 1631) was an English politician and a peer in the peerage of Ireland. Biography He was the eldest son of Robert Needham of Shavington Hall, near Adderley, in Shropshire, educated at Shrewsb ...

(died 1631) *

Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey (c. 1587/88 – 12 September 1653) was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War. Biography Robert Needham was born about 1598, the son of Sir Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kil ...

(died 1653) son * Robert Needham, 3rd Viscount Kilmorey (died 1657) son *

Charles Needham, 4th Viscount Kilmorey Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(died 1660) half-brother * Robert Needham, 5th Viscount Kilmorey (1655–1668) son * Thomas Needham, 6th Viscount Kilmorey (–1687) brother *

Robert Needham, 7th Viscount Kilmorey The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1683–1710) son * Robert Needham, 8th Viscount Kilmorey (1702–1717) son *

Thomas Needham, 9th Viscount Kilmorey 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 ...

(1703–1768) brother * John Needham, 10th Viscount Kilmorey (1710–1791) brother * Robert Needham, 11th Viscount Kilmorey (1746–1818) son * Francis Needham, 12th Viscount Kilmorey (1748–1832) (created Earl of Kilmorey in 1822) brother

Earls of Kilmorey (1822)

Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmorey (5 April 1748 – 21 November 1832), known as Francis Needham until 1818 and as The Viscount Kilmorey from 1818 to 1822, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Member of Parliament. Kilmorey was the third son of Joh ...

(1748–1832) * Francis Jack Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey (1787–1880) *

Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey (2 August 1842 – 28 July 1915), styled Viscount Newry from 1851 to 1880, was an Anglo-Irish Peerage, peer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament. Background and education ...

(1842–1915) * Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey (1883–1961) * Francis Jack Richard Patrick Needham, 5th Earl of Kilmorey (1915–1977) * Richard Francis Needham, 6th Earl of Kilmorey (born 1942) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's son Robert Francis John Needham, Viscount Newry and Mourne (born 1966).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Hon. Thomas Francis Michael Needham (born 1998).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilmorey Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1822 Noble titles created for UK MPs 1822 establishments in Ireland Earls of Kilmorey