Nicolas Lawless, 1st Baron Cloncurry (30 October 1735 – 28 August 1799), known as Sir Nicholas Lawless, Bt, between 1776 and 1789, was an Irish peer, wool merchant, banker and politician. Lawless was the son of Robert Lawless and Mary Hadsor, daughter of Dominick Hadsor, a

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

merchant. He was created a Baronet, of Abington in the County of Limerick, in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

in 1776. The same year he was returned to the Irish Parliament for

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

, a seat he held until 1789, when 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 Cloncurry, of Cloncurry in the County of Limerick. He built an impressive residence, Maretimo House, in

Blackrock, County Dublin Blackrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. It is named after the local geological rock formation to be found in the area of Blackrock Park. In the late 18th century, the Blackrock Road was a common place ...

, and began work on his country house Lyons Hill,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, which was completed by his son. He had purchased the Lyons estate from the heirs of the Aylmer family.

Marriage and succession

Lord Cloncurry married Margaret Browne, daughter of Valentine Browne of Mount Browne,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, in 1761. They had at least four children. One daughter, the Honourable Charlotta Louisa Lawless, married Edward Plunkett, 14th Baron Dunsany, and was the grandmother of

Sir Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionism (Ireland), Unionist Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP, supporter of Irish Home Rule ...

. Another daughter, the Honourable Valentina Letitia Lawless, married Sir Francis Conyngham,

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. Lady Cloncurry died in Dublin in February 1795, aged 46. Lord Cloncurry died at Maretimo House, Blackrock,

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, in August 1799, aged 63, and was succeeded in his titles by his only surviving son, Valentine. Valentine's prolonged imprisonment in the

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on suspicion of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

was thought by many to have hastened his father's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloncurry, Nicholas Lawless, 1st Baron 1735 births 1799 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish merchants