William Warner Westenra, 7th Baron Rossmore (14 February 1931 – 4 May 2021), known as Hon. William Westenra, and nicknamed Paddy, 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 State rel ...

noble, photographer and author.

Biography

Born at the family seat of Rossmore Castle, William Warner Westenra was educated at Scaitcliffe prep school and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

before reading Theology at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He inherited his father's title in 1958, by then his family's ancestral home had long been abandoned, due to dry-rot, and they instead lived in a dower house on the estate, which was sold in 1961 due to debts. A former gamekeepers house on the estate to which he moved was later destroyed by a fire started by the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

in 1981. Following the end of his relationship with

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

, whose experience with drug addiction led him to support the founding of the Coolmine Theraputic Community and drug treatment centre in 1973, he met and married Valerie Marion Tobin, in 1982 and their son, Benedict William was born in 1983. Westenra, upon his marriage to Tobin, adopted her daughter Charlotte, whose father was

Leonard Whiting Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a British semi-retired actor and singer widely known for his teenage role as Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of ''Romeo and Juliet'', a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for N ...

. Charlotte took the Westenra family name. He continued to work as a photographer and painter for many years. He later returned to Glin Castle where he had first encountered Faithfull and her then-boyfriend,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

, to photograph the castle for an upcoming coffee table book. His marriage to Valerie was dissolved, prior to his death in 2021. His son Benedict inherited the barony and assumed the title 8th Baron Rossmore upon it being proved.

Notes

References

1931 births 2021 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland 20th-century Anglo-Irish people People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of Cambridge People from County Monaghan Rossmore {{Ireland-writer-stub