Marcus Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon (1618 – 3 January 1670), also known as Colonel Mark Trevor, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

soldier and peer. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

he switched sides several times between 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 ...

and

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

forces. Under King Charles II he was a significant force in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and in 1662 was created the first

Viscount Dungannon Viscount Dungannon is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1662 when Marcus Trevor was made Baron Trevor, of Rostrevor in the County of Down, and Viscount Dungannon. These titles became extinct ...

Life

Trevor was the son of Sir Edward Trevor of Rostrevor,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and of Brynkinalt Hall, near

Chirk Chirk () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the historic counties of Wales, traditional coun ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, by his marriage to Rose Ussher, a daughter of Henry Ussher (''ca.'' 1550–1613),

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and his first wife Margaret Eliot. He was thus a cousin of a later Archbishop of Armagh, James Ussher (1581–1656), who was Henry's nephew. Thanks to 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 ...

, Trevor's father was imprisoned in Narrowater Castle, where he remained until 1642 and died soon after being released. In the meantime, Trevor himself, although young, served as one of the king's commanders in County Down. In October 1641 the rebel Con Magennis addressed a letter to Trevor and others.Gerald le Grys Norgate, 'Trevor, Marcus', in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', vol. 57 (1899) Following the outbreak of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, late in 1643, Trevor was part of a Royalist force which sailed to England, probably a division sent by the Marquess of Ormonde under Colonel Robert Byron, who garrisoned

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. On 12 January 1644 he was almost captured by parliamentarian forces led by Colonel Thomas Mytton at Ellesmere. Trevor was soon given command of a regiment of horse, and in July fought at the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters unde ...

, at which he was later claimed to have wounded

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

himself. Trevor's forces next marched into the north-western counties, and in October 1644 he led the defence of

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

. The following winter he spent in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

under Ralph Hopton, and on 16 February 1646, Trevor was one of Hopton's officers at the rout of the Battle of Torrington, after which the king's army in the West was broken. In May 1646, he joined Fairfax at Oxford and took service with Parliament against the Irish rebels. In October 1647 he was in Louth but in June 1649 he deserted, following Monck's treaty with Owen Roe O'Neill, and rejoined the Royalists under Ormonde. On 15 July he defeated Ferral, who was transporting ammunition for O'Neill to Dundalk, then helped in the defence of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. In November 1649 Trevor was shot in the stomach during a skirmish near

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

and taken to Kilkenny, where he recovered from his wounds. In March 1649/50 he was chosen by the Irish as Lieutenant-General of horse, but soon afterwards he again changed sides. In November 1654 Oliver Cromwell described him to his son

Henry Cromwell Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 23 March 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland. Biography Early life Henry Cromwell was born at Huntingdon on ...

as a dangerous man who should be secured in a safe place. In 1658 Trevor was trying to persuade others to support the future King Charles II, and before the Restoration, he was again firmly in the royalist camp. On 6 December 1660 the new king appointed him Ranger of Ulster, with a grant of twelve hundred acres in the Liberty of Dundalk and a further six hundred acres near Carlingford,

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 ...

.Deputy-Keeper of Irish Records, 32nd Rep. App. i. pp. 566, 656, 750 He also joined 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 ...

. On 28 August 1662, Trevor was created

of Tyrone and Baron Trevor of Rostrevor and in 1664 he was appointed as Governor of County Down. In a letter of 1668, Ormonde congratulated Dungannon on "setting distrust and enmity betwixt the Irish". He died at Dundalk on 3 January 1669/70 and was buried at Clanallin, near Rostrevor. His first wife was Frances, daughter and coheir of Sir Marmaduke Whitechurch. His second was Anne, widow of John Owen of Orieltown. On 27 March 1686, two of his sons matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and on 31 December 1687 John, the elder, was accidentally shot by his younger brother, Marcus Trevor. It was yet another son, Lewis Trevor, who succeeded his father.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungannon, Marcus Trevor, 1st Viscount 1670 deaths 1618 births Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles II Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Trevor, Marcus Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies