Phaedrig Lucius Ambrose O'Brien, 17th Baron Inchiquin (4 April 1900 – 20 May 1982) was the holder of a

hereditary peerage The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

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 ...

, as well as

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland In Eliza ...

of O'Brien and Prince of Thomond in the Gaelic

Irish nobility The Irish nobility could be described as including persons who do, or historically did, fall into one or more of the following categories of nobility: * Gaelic nobility of Ireland descendants in the male line of at least one historical grade o ...

. He was a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Early life

Inchiquin was the third of five children born to

Lucius O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin (21 June 1864 – 9 December 1929) was the England-born holder of a hereditary peerage in the Peerage of Ireland, as well as Chief of the Name of O'Brien and Prince of Thomond in the Gaelic Irish no ...

and Ethel Jane O'Brien ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Foster, daughter of Johnston Jonas Foster JP of

Cliffe Hill Cliffe Hill is a hill to the east of the town of Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is impressive on its western edge, where it looms over Lewes. Its summit is covered in a golf course. It is the second lowest Marilyn in England. Also to be fou ...

Lightcliffe Lightcliffe is a village in the Calderdale district in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated approximately three miles east of Halifax and two miles north west of Brighouse. Lightcliffe wa ...

. Inchiquin was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Career

Inchiquin came of military age in 1918 and as such briefly served in Britain in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a Gunner in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, however, the conflict ended before he had served on active service or had been promoted.Appendix F – List of Peers and Sons of Peers who served in the Great e First WorldWar. He reached the induction age of 18 in the war's last year. Listed as having done Home Service, with no medal entitlement. Inchiquin then went on to study at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

where he graduated with an MA, and undertook further studies at the Imperial College London's

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

, Inchiquin then went on to work in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

as a farmer and coffee planter from 1922 until 1936 when he was professionally engaged as a geologist in the mining industry by the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa. Inchiquin left Africa in 1939 to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was commissioned in 1940 as Second Lieutenant into the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. Inchiquin was subsequently attached to the East African Intelligence Corps in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and was mentioned in despatches in 1941, as well as wounded. Inchiquin rose to the rank of Major in 1943 and was finally

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

in 1946. After demobilisation he returned to the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa and worked for the company until he entered the British

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

in 1954. He was employed on survey to the government of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

(now

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

), as senior geologist, becoming assistant director in 1957. He retired from the Colonial Service in 1959 but continued to work as a consultant geologist until 1967 and succeed to the Baron Inchiquin peerage in 1968.

Family

Inchiquin was the younger brother of Donough O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin, whom he inherited the Baron Inchiquin peerage from upon his death as he had no male issue. He was also the uncle of

Conor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin Conor Myles John O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin (born 17 July 1943) is an English-born Irish clan chief and holder of an Irish peerage. Although his family's ancestral Irish residence has been sold, he remains a landowner in County Clare. Earl ...

. On 19 February 1945 he married Vera Maud Winter, the daughter of Reverend Clifton Winter of Winton House in

Dawlish Dawlish is an English seaside resort town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, from the county town of Exeter and from the larger resort of Torquay. Its 2011 population of 11,312 was estimated at 13,355 in 2019. It is t ...

, Devon. They had no issue. After succeeding to his brother's peerage, he returned to Ireland where he maintained Thomond House on the former ancestral estate of

Dromoland Castle Dromoland Castle ( ga, Drom Ólainn) is a castle, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, Ireland. It is operated as a five-star luxury hotel with a golf course, with its restaurant, the "Earl of Thomond", being awarded a Michel ...

. The 16th Baron had sold most of the estate including the ancestral seat to billionaire industrialist Bernard McDonough in 1962 and had subsequently built the adjacent Thomond House. Today the Castle remains intact and serves as a luxury hotel. It is now owned by a series of

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

businessmen. Inchiquin also maintained a smaller home in England at

Richard's Castle Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England. The Herefordshire section of the parish had a population of 250 at the 2011 Census. The Shropshire section o ...

near

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

.Addresses given in sketch. Inchiquin died on 20 May 1982 in Richards Castle and was succeeded by his nephew Conor as the 18th Baron Inchiquin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inchiquin, Phaedrig Lucius Ambrose O'Brien, 17th Baron 20th-century British geologists 1982 deaths People educated at Eton College People from County Clare Phaedrig 1900 births 17 British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Rifle Brigade officers Irish chiefs of the name