Philip Sydney Smyth (14 March 1715 – 29 April 1787) was a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second l ...

clergyman and fourth Viscount Strangford in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divi ...

. He succeeded to the viscountcy on 8 September 1724.

Career

Ecclesiastical

He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. King George II appointed him

Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin The Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral is the senior cleric of the Protestant St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, elected by the chapter of the cathedral. The office was created in 1219 or 1220, by one of several charters granted to the cathedral by Ar ...

in 1746 but the chapter successfully argued that

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

was not the patron, and he was dispossessed. He was successively

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

of Killaspugmullane in Cork Cathedral;

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Elphin Elphin may refer to: Places Canada * Elphin, Ontario, a hamlet in North Sherbrooke, Lanark County Ireland * Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland * Diocese of Elphin, a diocese in Ireland * Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin Scotland * Elphin, Highl ...

(1746–52); Dean of Derry (1752–69); and Archdeacon of Derry (1769–74).

Political

He sat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with mem ...

until 1784, when he was excluded by Act of Parliament after being tried and convicted of corruption for soliciting a bribe of £200 from the applicant in a court case that was pending before the House. The scandal was exacerbated by the fact that it came less than two years after the Irish Lords had regained final

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

from the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

Family

In 1741 Strangford married Mary, daughter of Anthony Jephson, MP for Mallow and his second wife Hannah Rogerson. They had six children: Mary-Anne (1745–1823) and Anne-Philippa (1749–1830), both unmarried; Robert, Philip, and Frances, who all died young; and finally Lionel (1753–1801), who also took holy orders before succeeding as 5th Viscount.

References

Sources

* * Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol IV 1898 * Alumni Dublinenses : a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593-1860) * Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangford, Philip Smythe, 4th Viscount 1715 births 1787 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People convicted of bribery Corruption in Ireland Deans of Derry Archdeacons of Derry