General Michael O'Brien Dilkes (1698 – August 1775) was a soldier of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Biography

He was born in 1698, the son of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Dilkes and his wife Lady Mary, daughter of

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin Murrough MacDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin (September 1614 – 9 September 1673), was an Irish nobleman and soldier, who came from one of the most powerful families in Munster. Known as ''Murchadh na dTóiteán'' ("Murrough the Burner"), ...

and widow of Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr. After his father's death in 1707 his mother married a third time, to Colonel John Irwin of

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

. Sir Thomas Dilkes was said to be related to the family of Dilke of

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. Dilkes joined the Army as a cornet on 12 August 1712,

Army List The ''Army List'' is a list (or more accurately seven series of lists) of serving regular, militia or territorial British Army officers, kept in one form or another, since 1702. Manuscript lists of army officers were kept from 1702 to 1752, the ...

for 1740
p. 68
and, in 1723, he was made captain in the 14th Regiment of Dragoons. On 18 April 1728, he was elected 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 Castlemartyr, in a by-election following the death of John Fitzgerald. He got leave from his regiment to attend Parliament in 1735-36 and would represent the constituency until the

demise of the Crown Demise of the Crown is the legal term in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms for the transfer of the Crown upon the death or abdication of the monarch. The Crown transfers automatically to the monarch's heir. The concept evolved ...

in 1760. As a military Member of Parliament, Dilkes was mentioned, with Henry Clements and William Harrison, in

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

's 1736 satirical poem on the Irish House of Commons, ''The Legion Club'' (the title alluding to

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8:30, where a possessed man says his name is

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"because many devils were entered in him"):

There sit Clements, Dilkes, and Harrison, How they swagger from their Garrison. Such a Triplet could you tell Where to find on this Side Hell? Harrison, and Dilkes, and Clements, Souse them in their own Excrèments. Every Mischief's in their Hearts, If they fail 'tis Want of Parts.

He was promoted to major in the 14th Dragoons on 14 January 1738, but had left the regiment by 1742. On 14 November 1745 he was promoted colonel.Army List for 1756
p. 3
Dilkes held the posts of Quartermaster-General and Barrack-Master-General of the Forces in Ireland, but after voting alongside his half-brother Henry Boyle against the government in the

Money Bill dispute Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: med ...

in December 1753 he was deprived of his offices. However, the following year he was promoted to major-general, with seniority of 11 March 1755, and made Governor of the

Royal Hospital Kilmainham The Royal Hospital Kilmainham () in Kilmainham, Dublin, is a 17th-century former hospital and retirement home which is now mainly used to house the Irish Museum of Modern Art and as a concert and events venue. It is notable as being the first l ...

. He was further promoted to lieutenant-general in 1759. In about 1760 he attempted to convert the cemetery at Bully's Acre into a botanic garden for the Hospital, but the project was abandoned after the men of

the Liberties The Liberties ( or occasionally ) is an area in central Dublin, Ireland, located in the southwest of the inner city. Formed from various areas of special manorial jurisdiction, initially separate from the main city government, it is one of Dub ...

rioted in protest. Dilkes also served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland. He was promoted to full general in 1772 and in 1774 he was appointed colonel of the 50th Regiment of Foot, holding the post until his death in August 1775. On 16 October 1734 Dilkes had married Anne, daughter of Duncan Cummin MD; he was survived by their children Thomas, Henry, John and Mary. The eldest son, Thomas, was serving in America as major of the

49th Regiment of Foot The 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1743. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princ ...

, but the "considerable pecuniary disappointments" he experienced on his father's death obliged him to sell out. Thomas Dilkes was the father of William Thomas Dilkes, who also became a general.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilkes, Michael OBrien 1698 births 1775 deaths British Army generals Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland 14th King's Hussars officers Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Military personnel from County Cork