Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont, KB, PC (Ire), (6 April 1738 – 20 October 1800) was an Anglo-Irish politician who served as one of the

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23 & 24 Geo 3 c. 17 (I) in 1784. The po ...

. Charles was briefly styled as the Baron Coote between February 1766 and his elevation to the

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

dom in September 1767.

Life

Charles was the son of Charles Coote MP (1695–1750) and Prudence Geering of

Cootehill Cootehill (; ) is a market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. Cootehill was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly. Both townlands lie within the barony of Tullygarvey. Cootehill is 20 km north-east of Cavan tow ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

. He was born on 6 April 1738 and baptised six days later. He was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. Lord Bellomont, as he then was, was badly wounded while fighting a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with The Viscount Townshend on 2 February 1773: Townshend shot him in the groin. The quarrel seems to have been political, as Townshend had been a highly unpopular

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. Coote was the representative for

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 the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from 1761 to 1766. He succeeded as The 5th Baron Coote in February 1766, and was created

Earl of Bellomont Earl of Bellomont, in the Kingdom of Ireland, was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came on 9 December 1680 when Charles Kirkhoven, 1st Baron Wotton, was made Earl of Bellomont. He had already be ...

in September 1767. He married Lady Emily Maria Margaret FitzGerald, the daughter of The 1st Duke of Leinster and Emily, Duchess of Leinster, in

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

on 20 August 1774. The couple had five children: one son, Charles, who died in 1786, and four daughters, Mary, Prudentia, Emily and Louisa. Between 1789 and 1797, Lord Bellomont was one of the joint

with The 1st Marquess of Ely. His titles became extinct at his death.

Speeches

References

External links

Joshua Reynolds painting details and Coote biography

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellomont, Charles Coote, 1st Earl of 1738 births 1800 deaths Irish MPs 1761–1768 Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of Ireland British duellists Politicians from County Cavan Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies Alumni of Trinity College Dublin