Baron Athenry is one of the oldest titles 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 ...

, but the date of its creation is thoroughly uncertain; each of the first four Berminghams listed below is claimed by some writers to have been Lord Athenry, but the evidence is disputed. The title appears to have been given to the

de Birmingham family The de Birmingham family (or de Bermingham) held the lordship of the manor of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also assisted in the invasion of Ireland a ...

of Birmingham, Warks, England as a reward for their help in the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...

in 1172. Both Sir William de Birmingham, and his son Robert de Birmingham, are variously claimed to have been involved in the invasion, but it is probable that, after the invasion, William returned to his home in England and left Robert their new lands in Ireland. Louthcrest

Peter Bermingham was fined for not attending Parliament in 1284, and is enrolled as Lord Athenry in the Parliament of 1295. The title Earl of Louth was created in 1319 as a reward to John de Bermingham for his victory over Edward de Bruce in the

Battle of Faughart The Battle of Faughart (or Battle of Dundalk) was fought on 14 October 1318 between a Hiberno-Norman force led by John de Bermingham (later created 1st Earl of Louth) and Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, and a Scottish and Irish army command ...

in 1318. The last

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 knig ...

was created Earl of Louth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1749, but died in 1799. Since he had three daughters, the Earldom of Louth became extinct at his death; the Barony of Athenry became dormant. Part of the problem has been whether the Barony properly can descend through the female line, in which case it is in

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ''abeance'' meaning "gaping") is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. ...

between the heirs of his daughters; or whether it passes through the male line. A descendant of the younger brother of the Richard, Lord Athenry, who died in 1645, claimed the Barony as

heir male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

in 1827, and Thomas Denman, the

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney ...

, agreed that he was heir male, but he was not recognized by the House of Lords. A claim by Thomas Sewell, son of the Earl of Louth's eldest daughter Elizabeth, failed on the ground that the title did not pass in the female line.

Barons Athenry (1172)

The numbering follows the second edition of the Complete Peerage
Volume 1, pages 290ff
* Robert de Bermingham (died by 1218) * Peter de Bermingham (died 1244) *

Meyler de Bermingham Meyler de Bermingham (d. before 1275) was an Anglo-Irish lord, founder of Athenry. Ancestry Meyler was a great-grandson of Robert de Bermingham who is said to have obtained a grant of Offaly from Strongbow or Henry II about 1172. Robert's son ...

, fl. 1212–1262 * Piers de Bermingham, died 1307 - 1st Baron * Richard I de Bermingham, died 1322 - 2nd Baron * Thomas de Bermingham, died 1374 - 3rd Baron *

Walter de Bermingham Walter de Bermingham was an Anglo-Irish lord who died in 1428. Little seems to be recorded of his term. In 1426, the annals relate that ''John, son of Mac Feorais Bermingham, was slain by Thomas, his own brother's son.'' When Walter died in ...

, died 1428 - 4th Baron * Thomas II de Bermingham, died 1473 - 5th Baron * Thomas III de Bermingham, died 1489 - 6th Baron *

Meiler de Bermingham Meiler de Bermingham was a Norman-Irish lord who died in 1529. Meiler was the last lord of Athenry before contact was resumed with the government in Dublin. References * ''The Abbey of Athenry'', Martin J. Blake, Journal of the Galway Archa ...

, died 1529 - 7th Baron *

John de Bermingham John de Bermingham (died 1547) was an Anglo-Irish lord. John succeeded upon the death of his father, Meiler. He was the ninth lord since the town's foundation in the late 1230s. During his lifetime, Athenry began to decline in response to warfa ...

, died 1547 - 8th Baron *

Richard II de Bermingham Richard II de Bermingham (died 1580) was an Anglo-Irish lord. Richard had one of the longest terms as lord, but it was during these years that Athenry came to decline. The succession crisis of the second Earl of Clanricarde and the subsequent M ...

, died 1580 - 9th Baron *

Edmond I de Bermingham Edmond I de Bermingham (died 1612) was an Anglo-Irish lord. Edmond was the first Lord Athenry to permanently reside at Dunmore, County Galway. His father had been forced to vacate Athenry, which had been the family's seat since about 1537, due ...

, 1540–1614 - 10th Baron *

Richard III de Bermingham Edmond I de Bermingham, Anglo-Irish lord, born 1570, died 1645. Edmond prospered during the economic recovery of Ireland in the early decades of the 17th century. However, he was one of dozens of Connacht landowners threatened with confiscation ...

, 1570–1645 - 11th Baron *

Edmond II de Bermingham Edmond de Bermingham was an Anglo-Irish lord, alive in 1645. Edmond succeeded upon his father's death in 1645 but had joined, or was about to join, the Franciscan order, so he resigned the lordship to his younger brother, Francis. He was a con ...

, resigned 1641 in favour of his brother * Francis de Bermingham, died 1677 - 12th Baron * Edward de Bermingham, died 1709 - 13th Baron *

Francis II de Bermingham Francis de Bermingham, 14th Baron Athenry (1692 – 1749), was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the only son of Edward Bermingham, 13th Baron Athenry, and his second wife Bridget Browne, daughter of Colonel John Browne and Maud Bourke. Francis de ...

, 1692-1750 - 14th Baron *

Thomas IV de Bermingham Thomas Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth (16 November 1717 – 11 January 1799) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He was also the last man to be summoned to parliament as Baron Athenry. Bermingham was the son of Francis Bermingham, 14th Baro ...

, 1717–1799, created Earl of Louth (Second creation) in 1759

Earl of Louth; First creation (1319)

John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth John de Bermingham, 1st and last Earl of Louth (died 13 June 1329) was an Irish peer. He was the commander of the Anglo-Irish army in the Battle of Faughart, the decisive battle in the Irish Bruce Wars 1315–1318. In this battle, Edward Bruc ...

(died 1329) **Richard de Bermingham, Lord Atherdee (died 1322)

Earl of Louth; Second creation (1749)

Thomas Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth Thomas Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth (16 November 1717 – 11 January 1799) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He was also the last man to be summoned to parliament as Baron Athenry. Bermingham was the son of Francis Bermingham, 14th Baron ...

(1717–1799)

References

*''

Complete Peerage ''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revis ...

'', ''sub'
"Athenry"
* ''Bermingham: Origins and History of the Family Name – 1060 to 1830'', Douglas P. Bermingham, Kildare. 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Athenry 1172 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Ireland Dormant baronies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1172

Barons Athenry (1172)

Earl of Louth; First creation (1319)

Earl of Louth; Second creation (1749)

See also

References