John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort (1742 – 23 May 1817) was an Irish politician. Born John Smyth, Gort was the son of Charles Smyth, Member of the Irish Parliament for Limerick City, and Elizabeth Prendergast. His paternal grandparents were Thomas Smyth,

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church it still continues as a sepa ...

, and Dorothea Burgh (daughter of Ulysses Burgh), and his paternal uncles included the lawyer George Smyth and Arthur Smyth,

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. His maternal grandparents were

Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet ( 1660 – 11 September 1709) was an Irish politician and soldier. Early life He was the son of Thomas Prendergast (d. 1725) of Croane, County Limerick, a small Catholic landowner, and Ele ...

, who was killed in action at the

Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Taisnières-sur-Hon in modern France, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A French army of around 75,000 men, commanded by the Duke of V ...

in 1709, and Penelope Cadogan, sister of William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan. In 1760 Gort succeeded to the estates of his maternal uncle Thomas Prendergast, 2nd Baronet, and assumed the surname of Prendergast in lieu of Smyth. However, in 1785, after the death of his brother Thomas Smyth MP, he resumed the surname of Smyth in addition to that of Prendergast.Spurrell, J. C., ''In Search of Thomas Smyth, Mayor of Limerick'', Irish Family History, Vol. 25 (2009) Gort was a Colonel in the Limerick Militia and sat as a Member of 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

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

from 1776 to 1783 and for

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

between 1785 and 1798. In 1810 he was raised to 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 ...

as Baron Kiltarton, of Gort in the County of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, and in 1816 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Gort, also in the Peerage of Ireland. Both titles were created with remainder to his nephew Charles Vereker, the son of his sister Juliana by her marriage with Thomas Vereker. Lord Gort also served as Governor of

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

from 1812 to 1817. He died unmarried on 23 May 1817, and was succeeded in his titles according to the special remainder by his nephew Charles Vereker.

References

* See also ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' - Gort. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gort, John Prendergast Smyth, 1st Viscount 1742 births 1817 deaths Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Politicians from County Galway Viscounts Gort Peers of Ireland created by George III Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Limerick constituencies People from Gort