Sir Murrough O'Brien, 10th Baron of Inchiquin, 5th Baron O'Brien of Burren, 1st Baron Thomond of Taplow, 5th Earl of Inchiquin, 1st Marquess of Thomond KP, PC (Ire) (1726 – 10 February 1808), known from 1777 to 1800 as the 5th Earl of Inchiquin, was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

peer, soldier and politician.

Life

Murrough O'Brien was born in 1726 to the Hon. James O' Brien and Mary Jephson in Drogheda. James' brother (and Murrough's uncle) was Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond, whose heir was Percy Wyndham O'Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond (c. 1713 – 1774), brother of Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont (1710–1763) of

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

. He joined the

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and was an officer in Germany, where he carried colours at the

Battle of Lauffeld The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a Fr ...

in 1747. He retired in 1756 and entered 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 Clare in the following year. He represented the constituency until 1761 and sat then as

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 ...

(MP) for Harristown until 1768. Because of his support for the Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland, on 29 December 1800 he was created Marquess of Thomond 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 ...

, with a special remainder to his younger brother, and Baron Thomond, of

Taplow Court Taplow Court is a Victorian house in the village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire, England. Its origins are an Elizabethan manor house, remodelled in the early 17th century. In the 18th century the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney. In the 185 ...

in the County of Buckingham in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 2 October 1801 (which title allowed him to sit in the United Kingdom House of Lords), but this time with no special remainder. He had a close relationship with

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In 1783 he was one of the Founding Knights of the Order of St Patrick. His Irish seat was at

Rostellan Rostellan () is a civil parish, townland and village in the historical Barony of Imokilly, County Cork, Ireland. An electoral division of the same name forms part of the Cork East Dáil constituency. For census purposes, the village of Rostell ...

, near

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

. He was a drinker, called a "'six bottle man", and a gambler. He was a keen farmer and oversaw the enclosure of lands around Taplow and mechanisation.

Marriages and children

Mary, Countess of Inchiquin (1750-1820) by Thomas Lawrence

He married twice: * Firstly in 1753 to Mary O'Brien, 3rd Countess of Orkney (died 1790), by whom he had a daughter, Mary O'Brien, 4th Countess of Orkney (1755–1831). * Secondly on 25 July 1792, to Mary Palmer (1750-1820), heiress of Sir Joshua Reynolds. They initially lived in Reynolds' former home in Leicester Square. He also is reputed to have had an illegitimate son, Thomas Carter (1769–1800), who was a composer in London during the 1790s. Thomas lived with Inchiquin at Taplow Court after his return from India in July 1789, and lent the earl all the money he earned in a benefit concert in Calcutta. In return, Inchiquin recommended Thomas to all his friends as a coal merchant; he had gone into that field after his marriage to Mary Wells in 1793 in order to support his growing family.

Death and succession

He died after a fall from his horse in Grosvenor Square, London on 10 February 1808. The title of Marquess of Thomond passed to his nephew

William O'Brien, 2nd Marquess of Thomond William O'Brien, 2nd Marquess of Thomond, 6th Earl of Inchiquin, 1st Baron Tadcaster KP PC (I) (176521 August 1846) was an Irish peer. He succeeded by special remainder as Marquess of Thomond in 1808 on the death of his uncle Murrough O'Brien, ...

. The barony of Thomond became extinct.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomond, Murrough Obrien, 1st Marquess Of 1726 births 1808 deaths Politicians from County Clare 19th-century Irish people British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Inchiquin, Murrough Obrien, 5th Earl of Inchiquin, Murrough Obrien, 5th Earl of Deaths by horse-riding accident in England Grenadier Guards officers Obrien, Murrough Obrien, Murrough Knights of St Patrick Inchiquin, Murrough Obrien, 5th Earl of Inchiquin, Murrough Obrien, 5th Earl of Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Murrough Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Clare constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies Marquesses of Thomond Irish chiefs of the name