John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo (; ; circa 1705 – 1790), styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1775 to 1781 and Viscount Mayo from 1781 to 1785, was an Irish politician and peer who was MP for

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

(1727–60, 1768–72) and

Old Leighlin Old Leighlin (), also Oldleighlin, is a village, civil parish and townland in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1,500 monks in residen ...

(1760–68) and was created Earl of Mayo (1785).

Early life

Dublin - Trinity College Dublin - 20210727123036

He was the son of Richard Bourke (d.1727) and Catherine Minchin, daughter of Charles Minchin of Ballynakill, County Tipperary. He was descended from Gaelic nobles, and shared a common ancestor with

Tibbot ne Long Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo Tibbot na Long Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo (anglicised as Theobald Bourke; ; ; 1567 – 18 June 1629) was an Irish peer and parliamentarian. A prominent member of the MacWilliam Burkes of County Mayo, Tibbot was a Member of the Irish House of Com ...

. 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 Univ ...

Career

In 1727, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for

, representing the seat 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, ...

until 1760. During this time he was the victim of at least one violent assault when in 1731 the Commons ordered the arrest of a man who had accosted Bourke with a pistol and threatened his life. Another man, who may have been former Naas MP Alexander Gradon, was accused of encouraging the attack. Between 1761 and 1768 he served as MP for

. He was re-elected for Naas in 1768, and held the seat until his elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

in 1776. That year was created Baron Naas, of Naas in the County of Kildare, in the

Peerage of Ireland 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 ...

. He assumed his seat in 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 ...

, and on 13 January 1781 he was made Viscount Mayo, a title which had previously been held by his distant relations. On 24 June 1785 Bourke was made Earl of Mayo.

Family

Bourke married Mary Deane (d.1774), daughter of

Joseph Deane Joseph Deane PC (1674–1715) was an Irish politician and judge who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. His sudden and premature death was popularly believed to be due to a chill caught when watching an eclipse of the sun. Background H ...

and Margaret Boyle, in 1726. Together they had three children. The Naas constituency was also represented by Bourke's son and grandson, the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and fourth earls.

Arms

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, John Bourke, 1st Earl of Year of birth unknown 1790 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Members of the Irish House of Lords Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies Earls of Mayo Peers of Ireland created by George III Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 1705 births