Christopher Fleming, 1st Viscount Longford and 17th Baron Slane (1669–1726), was an Irish peer and a member of the Irish parliament of 1689.

Career

Lord Slane was a Roman Catholic who had been educated in France at University of Douai. He was the only son of Randall Fleming, 16th Baron Slane and his second wife Penelope Moore, daughter of Henry Moore, 1st Earl of Drogheda and Alice Spencer. His father died when he was only seven years old and he was placed in the guardianship of his grandmother, the dowager Lady Drogheda, who petitioned the Crown to restore to him all lands forfeited by the family during the political troubles of the 1640s and 50s. He served as a colonel in the forces of

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

during the 1689–1691 war in Ireland. He fought in such engagements as the

Battle of Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and Ja ...

and Battle of Aughrim, at the latter of which he was taken prisoner. After being released he went abroad and served as a colonel in the French army. By 1704 he had joined the Portuguese army, where he served as a lieutenant general. Through this service he was reconciled to the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

; in 1709, his attainder was reversed by the House of Lords. In 1713 he received a royal patent from Queen Anne naming him The 1st Viscount Longford.

Death and burial

Lord Longford (as he then was) died at Fleming Hall, Anticur, in 1726 and was buried in the MacDonnell family vault in Bonamargy Friary at Ballycastle, the burial place of the

Earls of Antrim Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of Ireland and both times for members of the MacDonnell family, originally of Scottish origins. History The MacDonells of Antrim descended from Sorley Boy MacDo ...

Children and succession

He left only one child, a daughter, Helen Fleming, who lived and died in Paris on 7 August 1748. She was unmarried and left no children. The heir to Fleming Hall and the barony was his nephew William Fleming, 23rd Baron Slane. He was the son of Thomas Fleming of Gillanstown in County Meath. William had a son Christopher Fleming, 24th and last Baron Slane, who lived at Fleming Hall and died there in 1771. He left as his sole heiress his daughter who married Felix O’Connor of County Donegal. Following her husband's death, she sold Fleming Hall and moved to Craigs, Finvoy, and then to America.

Fleming Hall

Fleming Hall was purchased by the Leslie family, and was sold by them in 1847 to the Richards family, from whom it descended to the present owners in 2012, the Wallace family.Boyd

Sources

* G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Catherine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 19-21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slane, Christopher Fleming, 17th Baron People from County Meath 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England 1669 births 1726 deaths Portuguese generals Members of the Irish House of Lords Barons in the Peerage of Ireland