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
General William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, ( – 17 July 1726) was a British army officer, diplomat and Whig politician. He began his military career during the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689 and ended it with the suppression of the Jacobit ...
.
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