John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel PC (Ire) (1740 – 23 August 1828) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer who thrice served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and also served as the last speaker of the Irish House of Commons.

Early life

He was the son of Anthony Foster of Dunleer,

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 ...

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Irish Court of Exchequer. This was a mirror of the equivalent court in England, and was one of the four courts which sat in the building in Dublin which is still ...

(himself the son of John Foster, MP for Dunleer) by his first wife Elizabeth Burgh. Foster lived in Merville, now part of the

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

Campus in

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (; , meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access The district is adjacent to ...

, which came into his ownership in 1778. He also inherited

Collon Collon () is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, the ancestral home of the Foster family. ...

House in County Louth from his father, and made extensive improvements to the house and grounds; Collon was famous for its variety of trees and shrubs.

Political career

He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) to 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, ...

for Dunleer in 1761, a seat he held until 1769. He made his mark in financial and commercial questions, being appointed Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1784. His law giving bounties on the exportation of corn and imposing heavy taxes on its importation is noted by William Lecky as being largely responsible for making Ireland an arable instead of a pasture country. In 1785 he became the last Speaker of the

. In 1768, Foster was elected for

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

and in 1783 for Sligo Borough. Both times he had also stood for

, which constituency he then chose to represent. He held this seat until the Act of Union in 1801, which he opposed. It was said by his critics that his opposition to the Union was less political than personal; summoned to London for consultations, he found himself treated with contempt by the English officials he dealt with, who mocked his broad Irish accent and called him "Mister Spaker". On returning to Ireland he launched a campaign of opposition to the Union. He ultimately refused to surrender the Speaker's mace, which was kept by his family and is now on display in the

Parliament House, Dublin Parliament House () in Dublin, Ireland, was home to the Parliament of Ireland, and since 1803 has housed the Bank of Ireland. It was the world's first purpose-built bicameral parliament house. It is located at College Green. History Origina ...

(now the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

). He served as Custos Rotulorum of Louth from 1798 to 1801 and Governor of Louth from 1798 to his death. Foster was returned in 1801 to the new United Kingdom parliament as a member for

, and from 1804 to 1806 was Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer under Pitt. From 1807 to 1813 he was second Commissioner in the Irish Treasury and from 1807 to 1812 one of the Lord Commissioners of the UK Treasury. In 1821 he has created a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Oriel, of

Ferrard Ferrard () is a barony in County Louth, Ireland. Etymology Ferrard derives its name from ''Fera Arda Ciannachta'', "men of the high Ciannachta", referring to the uplands around Mount Oriel. Location Ferrard is found in south County Louth, ...

, in the County of Louth, and died on 23 August 1828.

Family

In 1764, he married Margaretta Amelia Burgh, daughter of Thomas Burgh, MP for Lanesborough, and his wife Anne Downes, daughter of

Dive Downes Dive Downes (b Thornby, Northamptonshire 1652 – d Dublin 1709) was Bishop of Cork and Ross from 1699 to 1709. Downes was born in Northamptonshire, son of the Reverend Lewis Downes. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was ordained in ...

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the County Cork town of Rosscarbery in the Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and ...

. John and Margaretta had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, John Foster, was MP for Dunleer 1790–92 and died without issue before 18 April 1792. That John should not be confused with his cousin

John William Foster John William Foster (1745 – January 1809), of Rosy Park, was an Anglo-Irish volunteer and politician. He was the grandson of John Foster of Dunleer, MP for Dunleer and Elizabeth, née Fortescue.Burke's Peerage Foster was appointed High Sheri ...

, MP for Dunleer 1783–90.
says "John William Foster,. M.P., for Dunleer, who married 1788, Rebecca, the only child of Hamilton McClure, Esq., of Dublin, and died 1809, having had ..." His wife (d. 1824) had in 1790 been created an Irish peeress, as Baroness Oriel, and in 1797 Viscount Ferrard, Viscountess Ferrard. Their younger son, Thomas Henry (1772–1843), who married Harriet Skeffington, Viscountess Massereene in her own right, and took the name of Skeffington, inherited all these titles; the later Viscounts Massereene being their descendants. John and Margaretta also had a daughter, Anne, who married James Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin, but had no children. She outlived her husband by many years and reached the age of 93. One of his first cousins married Elizabeth Hervey, aka Lady Bess Foster, aka Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire. His younger brother was Lord Bishop Foster.

Arms

References

External links

Foster papers Online at the Northern Ireland Public Records Office

Biography and letters

*APW Malcomson: "John Foster: The politics of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy"; , 504 pages, 1978 Oxford: Oxford University Press *APW Malcomson: An Anglo-Irish Dialogue: A Calendar of the Correspondence between John Foster and Lord Sheffield 1774-1821"; , 1975 Belfast: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:Oriel, John Foster, 1st Baron 1740 births 1828 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John Foster, John UK MPs who were granted peerages Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Sligo constituencies