Bernard Edward Barnaby FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Castletown, KP, CMG, PC (I) (29 July 1848 – 29 May 1937) 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 ...

soldier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament.

Biography

Life

Castletown was the only son of

John FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Castletown John Wilson FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Castletown PC (born John Wilson; 24 September 1809 – 22 January 1883) was an Anglo-Irish Liberal politician. Early life and education Castletown, baptised John Wilson, was born in London, the illegitima ...

, and his wife Augusta Mary (''née'' Douglas).Colley, Mary. "Lord Castletown Papers", National Library of Ireland
/ref> He had six sisters. He was educated at Eton and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, where he took second-class honours in Law and Modern History. He made the Grand Tour, then in fashion for eldest sons of the aristocracy, and viewed fighting during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Queen's County The High Sheriff of Queen's County was the British Crown's judicial representative in Queen's County, Ireland (now County Laois), Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the off ...

in 1876, and sat as Member of Parliament for Portarlington from 1880 to 1883, when he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He served in the Life Guards and fought in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1882. After he resigned from active service, he was appointed to the

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. Descended from the Territorial Force ( ...

in 1886, serving as a volunteer officer until reaching the age limit in March 1900. He was promoted

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 8 June 1896, and later lieutenant colonel in command of the 4th (Queen's County Militia) Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) from October 1899, and was the first to outfit them with Irish bagpipers. In February 1900, he left for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he was posted on special service during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, as Acting Assistant Adjutant-General on the HQ staff. In recognition of services during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902. In early 1902, he took part in a special diplomatic mission to promote British interests in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Along with

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...

and others, he was elected honorary Vice President of the Irish Literary Society of New York in 1903. In 1905, he proposed a tillage farming plan along the lines of Ireland's old clan system. Castletown was later Chancellor of the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was a university in Ireland that existed from 1879 to 1909. It was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the ...

between 1906 and 1910.

Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels

The Irish Crown Jewels were discovered missing on 6 July 1907, four days before the start of a visit to the Irish International Exhibition by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

and Queen

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, at which was planned the investiture of Bernard FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Castletown into the Order. The theft is reported to have angered the King, but the visit went ahead. However, the investiture ceremony was cancelled. Also stolen were the

collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

s of five Knight Members of the Order. The following year in 1908 he was made a

Knight of the Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

and admitted to the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...

. His banner still hangs in St. Patrick's Hall in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

Family and Death

Lord Castletown married the Hon. Emily Ursula Clare St Leger, daughter of the 4th Viscount Doneraile, in 1874. The marriage was childless. Lady Castletown joined her husband in South Africa in early 1900, when he was posted there during the

. He died on 29 May 1937 at Granston Manor, aged 87, when the barony became extinct."Lord Castletown of Upper Ossory." Times ondon, England1 June 1937: 21. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. Castletown was particularly interested in Celtic heritage, and was among the founders of the Celtic Association, an organisation concerned with the preservation of the languages, literature, music, dress and customs of the Celtic peoples. In 1900, the Celtic Association was set up in Dublin with Castletown as president and E.E. Fournier as secretary. The Celtic Association is mainly remembered for the three Pan-Celtic Congresses it organized: the first in Dublin in 1901, the second in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

in 1904, and the last in Edinburgh in 1907.Lord Castletown. "Address to the Pan-Celtic Congress of 1907", ''Scotia'', St. Andrew's society, 1907
/ref> The first Congress had been scheduled for 1900, but had to be postponed when Castletown was called to service in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. The Association was not without its detractors, in part because many of the Irish sympathized with the Boers. Originally made up of representatives from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and the Isle of Man; Cornwall was added in 1904.

References

External links

The Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society

Index of the Lord Castletown Papers

NLI links to Castletown Papers
*
History Ireland article on the life of Lord Castletown

Index of published books authored by Bernard FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Castletown

''Celtia'': A pan-Celtic monthly magazine featuring the activity of Lord Castletown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castletown, Bernard FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron 1848 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Irish politicians Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford 2 Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of St Patrick Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Portarlington People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs who inherited peerages

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

British Life Guards officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War High sheriffs of Queen's County Queen's County Militia officers Irish soldiers in the British Army Politicians from County Laois Irish Conservative Party MPs