John Bellew, 1st Baron Bellew of Duleek (died 12 January 1692) was an Irish Jacobite soldier and politician.

Biography

Bellew was the son of was son of Sir Christopher Bellew of

Bellewstown Bellewstown () is a townland and village located 8 km south of Drogheda, on the Hill of Crockafotha in County Meath in Ireland. Bellewstown townland, which is in the electoral division of Ardcath and the civil parish of Duleek, had a popul ...

and Frances Plunkett, a daughter of Matthew Plunkett, 7th Baron Louth. As a child he was sent to France for his safety during the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, but he returned to Ireland in 1648 in the retinue of the

Marquess of Ormonde A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

, who gave him command of a troop of horse in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

army. He was later appointed lieutenant of the ordnance in Ireland. He was present at the

Battle of Rathmines The Battle of Rathmines was fought on 2 August 1649, near the modern Dublin suburb of Rathmines. Part of the Irish Confederate Wars, an associated conflict of 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, it has been described as the 'decisive battl ...

during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

. Bellew subsequently had his Irish estates, totalling 6,000 acres in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

and

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, seized by the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

under the

Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 The Act for the Settling of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against Irish civilians and combatants after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest. British historian John Morrill wrote that the Act and a ...

. Bellew was transplanted to

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

. Upon the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, Bellew was restored to his estates in October 1660 and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1661. A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland 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 executi ...

in 1685 and on 29 October 1686 he was created Baron Bellew of Duleek by

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. Bellew attended the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

during James II's short-lived

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

in 1689. He raised a regiment of infantry for the Jacobite army during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

. In April 1691 he was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

by the Williamite regime. He fought at the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

in July 1691, at which he was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Bellew died of his wounds in captivity in England the following year in January 1692. He was buried in

St. Mary's Abbey, Duleek St. Mary's Abbey is a medieval monastery and National Monument located in Duleek, Ireland. Location St. Mary's Abbey is located in the central part of Duleek called the Commons, between Main Street and Church Lane. The Nanny River is to the ...

. On 28 November 1663, Bellew had married Mary (or Margaret) Bermingham. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, Walter, although due to the attainder, Walter's title was not recognised outside Jacobite circles. After Walter's death in 1694, the attainder was reversed on 30 March 1697 for Richard Bellew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellew of Duleek, John, 1st Baron Year of birth unknown 1693 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Cavaliers Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Irish soldiers in the Irish Confederate Wars Members of the Irish House of Lords Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by James II People convicted under a bill of attainder