Baron de Freyne, of Coolavin in the County of Sligo, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1851 for

Arthur French, 1st Baron de Freyne Arthur French, 1st Baron de Freyne and de Freyne (1786 – 29 September 1856) was an Anglo-Irish peer and member of parliament. De Freyne was the eldest son of Arthur French of Frenchpark and his wife Margaret Costello of Edmondstown. The Frenc ...

, with remainder to his younger brothers John, Charles and Fitzstephen French. He had earlier represented County Roscommon 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. T ...

and later served as Lord Lieutenant of County Roscommon. French had already been created Baron de Freyne, of Artagh in the County of Roscommon, in 1839, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom but with normal remainder to heirs male. Lord de Freyne was childless and on his death in 1856 the barony of 1839 creation became extinct. The barony of 1851 creation survives according to the special remainder by his younger brother John, the second Baron. On his death, the title passed to another brother, Charles, the third Baron. In 1851 this Charles was married to Catherine Maree, daughter of Luke Maree, by a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. Afterwards, a question arose as to the validity of the marriage with her being a Roman Catholic and he a Protestant and they were again married in 1854 in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

. By then they had had three sons, Charles French (MP; 1851–1925) (

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 o ...

for County Roscommon), John French (1853–1916) and William French (1854–1868). However, due to the uncertainty over the first marriage Lord de Freyne was succeeded by his eldest son born after the marriage of 1854, Arthur French, the fourth Baron. His eldest son, the fifth Baron, was killed in action at the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

in 1915. He was succeeded by his half-brother, the sixth Baron. the title is held by the latter's grandson, 8th Baron, who succeeded his father in 2009. The French family is descended from John French, of Frenchpark, County Roscommon, nicknamed "An Tiarna Mór" (the great landowner). He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

for Carrick, County Galway and

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It is 19 km north of Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk is Cruachan, an Iron Age (Gaelic) royal palace. As recou ...

. His son, Arthur French, represented County Roscommon in the Irish Parliament. His elder son, John French, was a member of the Irish Parliament for County Roscommon. He was about to be raised to 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 ...

as Baron Dangar in 1775 but died before the peerage was formally created. His younger brother, Arthur (1728–1799), member of the Irish Parliament for County Roscommon, refused the offer of the peerage originally intended for his brother. His son Arthur French (d. 1820) was also a member of the Irish House of Commons for County Roscommon. His eldest son was the first Baron de Freyne.

Fitzstephen French Fitzstephen French PC (7 December 1801 – 4 June 1873) was a Whig Member of Parliament for Roscommon. He was the younger brother of Captain Charles French, 3rd Baron De Freyne and a son of Arthur French. Elected in 1832, he held the seat up un ...

, youngest brother of the first Baron, was Member of Parliament for County Roscommon. The family seat was Frenchpark House,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

Barons de Freyne; First creation (1839)

(1786–1856)

Barons de Freyne; Second creation (1851)

(1786–1856) * John French, 2nd Baron de Freyne (1788–1863) * Charles French, 3rd Baron de Freyne (1790–1868) * Arthur French, 4th Baron de Freyne (1855–1913) * Arthur Reginald French, 5th Baron de Freyne (1879–1915) * Francis Charles French, 6th Baron de Freyne (1884–1935) * Francis Arthur John French, 7th Baron de Freyne (1927–2009) * (Fulke) Charles Arthur John French, 8th Baron de Freyne (b. 1957)

Arms

Notes

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links