Charles O'Brien, (17 March 16999 September 1761), titular 6th

Viscount Clare Viscount Clare was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created twice. First creation The titles of Viscount Clare and Baron Moyarta were conferred on Daniel O'Brien, a younger son of Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond, on 11 July 1662. These ...

and later titular 8th

Earl of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, K ...

, was an Irish military officer in French service (he was made a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

), known to posterity as the Maréchal de Thomond.

Early life

Charles O'Brien was the son of Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare and Charlotte Bulkeley, the sister of Anne Bulkeley, second wife of

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman who was the eldest illegitimate son of James II of England by Arabella Churchill (royal mistress), Arabella Churchill, the ...

and

Career

He fought for France against Spain in 1718 with the rank of colonel in the service of his father's regiment and later fought in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

in the siege of Philippsburg in June 1734, where he was wounded. He gained the rank of

Maréchal de Camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

in 1735 in the service of the King's Armies. O'Brien also fought in the

Battle of Dettingen The Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Karlstein am Main in Bavaria. An alliance composed of British, Hanoverian and Austrian troops, known as the Pragmatic Army, defeated a French ...

in 1743 and in the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

in 1745. When his cousin,

Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond (14 August 1688 – 20 April 1741) was an Irish peer, Member of Parliament and Chief of Clan O'Brien. He was born the son of Henry Horatio O'Brien, Lord Ibrackan, who was to predecease his own father in 1690, ...

, offered the Thomond estates to Charles on the condition of his conversion to Protestantism, he refused, and so he willed them to the young son of

William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin, Order of the Bath, KB, Privy Council of Ireland, PC(I) (1700 – 18 July 1777) was an Irish Peerage, peer, Chief of Clan O'Brien dynasty, O'Brien, and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons, ...

, Murrough, with remainder to Percy Wyndham. Murrough's death in 1741 caused the reversion to become effective, with the estates leaving O'Brien hands. O'Brien was invested as a Knight, L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit of France on 2 February 1746 at the chapel of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, Île-de-France, France. He held the office of Governor of

Neuf-Brisach Neuf-Brisach ( or , ; , , in contrast to " Old Breisach"; ) is a fortified town and commune of the department of Haut-Rhin in the French region of Alsace. The fortified town was intended to guard the border between France and the Holy Roman E ...

in Alsace, and was Commander-in-Chief of the province of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. In 1757 he was made a

Personal life

In 1755, O'Brien married Marie Genevieve Louise Gautier, daughter of François Gautier, marquis de Chiffreville. They had three children: * Charles O'Brien, 9th Earl of Thomond (1757–1774), who died unmarried. * Lady Charlotte ''Antoinette'' Marie Septimanie O'Brien (1759–1808), married , 3rd Duke of Praslin. * Lady Marie O'Brien (1760–1786), who died unmarried. Lord Thomond died on 9 September 1761, aged 62, at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France. He was succeeded by his only son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

upon whose death the titles became extinct in 1774.

Descendants

Through his daughter Antoinette, he was a grandfather of Lucie-Virginie de Choiseul-Praslin (1794–1834), who married Charles Just de Beauvau, 4th Prince of Beauvau in 1815; and Charles-Félix de Choiseul-Praslin, 4th Duke of Praslin (1778–1841).

References

Earls in the Jacobite peerage French military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession

Irish chiefs of the name 1699 births People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1761 deaths {{Ireland-earl-stub