Conor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin
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Conor Myles John O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin (17 July 1943 – 3 June 2023), The O’Brien (Chief of the Name), Prince of Thomond, and 10th Baronet of Leamaneh, was an English-born Irish clan chief and holder of an
Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
. Although his family's ancestral home,
Dromoland Castle Dromoland Castle () 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 Michelin star in 1995, ...
, was sold, he remained owner of a large house and substantial estate in Dromoland,
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
until his death.


Early life and education

O'Brien was the son of
Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...
Fionn Myles Maryons O'Brien (28 October 1903 – 2 August 1977) and Josephine Reine O'Brien Bembaron (''circa'' 1913 - 27 October 2011). He had a sister. Fionn was the son of Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron of Inchiquin and Ethel Jane Foster. O'Brien was educated at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...
. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his uncle, Phaedrig O'Brien, 17th Baron Inchiquin, in 1982.


Career

O'Brien was commissioned into the 14th/20th Kings Hussars of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in 1963. He served as a troop commander in
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,
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
,
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on
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,
Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, sout ...
,
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(as assistant
adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
),
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, and Tidworth as adjutant of the regiment. He became Aide-de-Camp to Commander British Forces Gulf in
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and left the army in 1975, retiring with the rank of
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. Although the
ancestral seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...
of
Dromoland Castle Dromoland Castle () 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 Michelin star in 1995, ...
, and some of its demesne, had since left family hands, O'Brien continued to run the lands on the remaining estate. O'Brien operated an exclusive guest house in the new family home, Thomond House, adjacent to the former seat, from 1984 until 2008. He also turned the residual Dromoland Estate into a sporting and leisure venue. In April 2010, he was awarded €7.9m in damages by the High Court over the repudiation of an agreement to buy 377 acres out of the 600 acres of the Dromoland estate which his family still owned. In 2012, in a long-running dispute with the management of Dromoland Castle, O'Brien was refused an initial application to the High Court for them to immediately return 37 paintings that were loaned several decades prior (after discovering the hotel had allowed damage to occur to many of the paintings, O’Brien requested their prompt return). The hotel, however, scanned and reprinted all the paintings before O’Brien could get them returned and the copies now hang on the walls of Dromoland.


Other work

In 1998, O'Brien visited
Antioch, California Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...
for St. Patrick's Day and Antioch's first St. Patrick's Day Crinniu, hosted by then-Councilman Allen Payton and the city's council proclaimed "Sir Conor O'Brien Day". Conor O’Brien formed the O’Brien clan foundation, which claims to connect over 800,000 O’Briens worldwide. He also was at one point the chairman of the Standing Council of Irish Chief and Chieftains.


Marriage and children

O'Brien married Helen O'Farrell in 1988. They had two daughters, Slaney Alexandra Anne O'Brien (1989) and Lucia Josephine O'Brien (1991).


Death

Lord Inchiquin died in Dromoland on 3 June 2023, at the age of 79.Lord Inchiquin dies in Dromoland
/ref> He is succeeded by his distant cousin and heir, Conor John Anthony O'Brien


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inchiquin, Conor Obrien, 18th Baron 1943 births 2023 deaths People educated at Eton College
Conor Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other her ...
18 Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School Irish Anglicans Irish chiefs of the name 14th/20th King's Hussars officers 20th-century British military personnel