Viscount Gormanston is a
title in the
Peerage of Ireland created in 1478 and held by the head of the Preston family, which hailed from
Lancashire. It is the oldest
vicomital title in the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
; the holder is Premier Viscount of Ireland.
The Preston family descends from
Sir Robert Preston, who served as
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...
. Sometime between 1365 and 1370 he was created Baron Gormanston by
writ to the
Parliament of Ireland. His son and heir, the second
Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
, played a prominent part in public affairs, and was arrested for
treason in 1418. His great-grandson, the fourth Baron, served as
Lord Deputy of Ireland: in 1478 he was created Viscount Gormanston in the Peerage of Ireland. His son, the second viscount, served as
Lord Justice of Ireland
The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...
in 1525. A later descendant, the seventh Viscount, was a supporter of
King James II
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
and was outlawed after the
Glorious Revolution.
Jenico Preston helped to suppress the
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
. In 1800 he had the outlawry reversed and was summoned to the
Irish House of Lords as the twelfth Viscount Gormanston. He was the great-grandson of Anthony Preston, the ''de jure'' ninth Viscount Gormanston, the nephew of the seventh Viscount. The twelfth Viscount was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Viscount. In 1868 he was created Baron Gormanston, in County Meath, in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave the
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
s an automatic seat in the
House of Lords. His son, the fourteenth Viscount, notably served as
Governor of British Guiana and as
Governor of Tasmania. The 15th viscount was a captain in the
Royal Irish Fusiliers and a Deputy Lieutenant of County Meath. the
titles are held by the latter's great-grandson, the seventeenth Viscount who succeeded to the titles in 1940 at the age of seven months after his father was killed in action during the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...
in the
Second World War.
Another member of the Preston family was
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara. He was the second son of the fourth Viscount Gormanston. Also,
John Preston, 1st Baron Tara, was a descendant of a younger brother
The unusual first name Jenico borne by many Preston boys derives from the
Gascon-born soldier
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Jenico d'Artois
Sir Jenico d'Artois, Dartas, Dartass or Dartasso (c.1350 – November 1426) was a Gascony-born soldier and statesman, much of whose career was spent in Ireland. He enjoyed the trust and confidence of three successive English monarchs, and became a ...
, a prominent military commander who became a substantial landowner in
Ireland. His daughter Jane married the 3rd Baron Gormanston, and was mother of
Sir Robert Preston, who was created a
viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
.
The family seat was
Gormanston Castle
Franciscan College Gormanston is a school operated and managed by the Irish province of the Order of the Friars Minor. The college operates under the trusteeship of the Minister Provincial and Definitory of the Franciscan Province of Ireland. I ...
, near
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
,
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 so ...
.
Barons Gormanston (1365/1370)
*
Robert Preston, 1st Baron Gormanston
Robert Preston, 1st Baron Gormanston (died 1396) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, statesman and judge of the fourteenth century. He held several senior judicial offices including, for a brief period, that of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was the foun ...
(died 1396)
*
Christopher Preston, 2nd Baron Gormanston (died 1422)
*
Christopher Preston, 3rd Baron Gormanston (died 1450)
*
Robert Preston, 4th Baron Gormanston (died 1503; created Viscount Gormanston in 1478)
Viscounts Gormanston (1478)
*
Robert Preston, 1st Viscount Gormanston (1435–1503)
*
William Preston, 2nd Viscount Gormanston (died 1532); only son of the 1st Viscount
*
Jenico Preston, 3rd Viscount Gormanston (1502–1569); only son of the 2nd Viscount
*
Christopher Preston, 4th Viscount Gormanston (1546–1599); eldest son of the 3rd Viscount
*
Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston (1584–1630); eldest son of the 4th Viscount
*
Nicholas Preston, 6th Viscount Gormanston (1608–1643); only son of the 5th Viscount
*
Jenico Preston, 7th Viscount Gormanston (died 1691) (outlawed 1691); eldest son of the 6th Viscount
*Jenico Preston, ''de jure'' 8th Viscount Gormanston (1640–1700); eldest son of 2nd (and youngest) son of the 6th Viscount
*Anthony Preston, ''de jure'' 9th Viscount Gormanston (died 1716); only brother of the '' de jure'' 8th Viscount
*Jenico Preston, ''de jure'' 10th Viscount Gormanston (1707–1757); only son of '' de jure'' 9th Viscount
*Anthony Preston, ''de jure'' 11th Viscount Gormanston (1736–1786); eldest son of the '' de jure'' 10th Viscount
*
Jenico Preston, 12th Viscount Gormanston (1775–1860) (restored 1800); only son of the ''de jure'' 11th Viscount
*
Edward Anthony John Preston, 13th Viscount Gormanston (1796–1876); eldest son of the 12th Viscount
*
Jenico William Joseph Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston (1837–1907); eldest son of the 13th Viscount
*
Jenico Edward Joseph Preston, 15th Viscount Gormanston (1879–1925); eldest son of the 14th Viscount
*
Jenico William Richard Preston, 16th Viscount Gormanston (1914–1940); eldest son of the 15th Viscount; killed in action, France, World War II
*
Jenico Nicholas Dudley Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston (born 1939); only son of the 16th Viscount
**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 Viscount's elder son Hon. Jenico Francis Tara Preston (born 1974)
Hon. Jenico Preston @ The British Fashion Council
/ref>
See also
* Gormanston, County Meath
* Baron Tara
* Viscount Tara
References
External links
*
*
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors); ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
, 1990.
*Tiernan, Sonja, ‘“A Zealous Catholic and a Notorious Trouble-Maker” The Gormanston Papers in the National Library of Ireland’ in Ríocht na Mídhe: Meath Archæological and Historical Society. Vol. XX, 2009, pp. 171–88.
*Catalogue for Gormanston Estate Papers at National Library of Ireland, ''qv.'
www.nli.ie
* ''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gormanston
Viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland
Noble titles created in 1478