Ralph Gore, 1st Earl of Ross (23 November 1725 – September 1802), known as Sir Ralph Gore, 6th Baronet, from 1746 until 1764, subsequently as The Baron Gore until 1768, and then as The Viscount Belleisle until 1772, 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, politician and peer.

Background

Born at Belle Isle Castle in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

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 ...

, he was the second son of Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet, and his second wife Elizabeth, only daughter of St George Ashe, at that time

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher (, ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and ...

. Gore was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and, in 1744, he purchased a lieutenancy in the 33rd Regiment of Foot. In 1746, he succeeded his older brother

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

as baronet.

Military career

In the middle of the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, Gore joined the regiment in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in 1745 and took over a company. At the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

on 11 May, he was hit on his right arm by a shot, however quickly recovered. During the Battle of Lauffeld on 2 July 1747 all his superior officers were killed or severely wounded, so command of the battalion fell to Gore, who performed so well, that on the following day he received the thanks of the British commander, The Duke of Cumberland. In 1760, he raised the

92nd Regiment of Foot (Donegal Light Infantry) The 92nd Regiment of Foot (Donegal Light Infantry) (1760–1763) was a short-lived infantry regiment in the British Army which was raised in Ireland in 1760 by the Earl of Ross at his own expense to help counter the Spanish Invasion of Portugal o ...

and became its lieutenant-colonel until the regiment's dissolution three years later.

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Belleisle, as he was by this time, was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1772 and to major-general in 1777. Two years thereafter he was admitted to the Irish general staff and in 1781 obtained colonelship of the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot. In the following year, he was made a

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

and in 1788, during the absence of Sir William Augustus Pitt, was acting Commander-in-Chief, Ireland. Lord Ross, as he was now, was promoted to a full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 1796.

Political career

In 1747, Gore entered 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, ...

, sitting for

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, the same constituency his father and brother had represented before, until 1764, when on 30 June, he was ennobled in 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 ...

with the title Baron Gore, of Manor Gore, in the County of Donegal. He took his seat 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 the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

in 1767 and was created Viscount Belleisle, of Belleisle, in the County of Fermanagh on 25 August 1768. Gore was finally advanced as Earl of Ross, in the County of Fermanagh, on 4 January 1772. He served as

High Sheriff of Donegal The High Sheriff of Donegal was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland, from the late 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Donega ...

in 1755 and as High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1760.

Family

On 23 February 1754, Sir Ralph Gore married, firstly, Katherine, eldest daughter of William Conolly and Lady Anne Wentworth. After her death in 1771, Lord Belleisle, as he was by this time, remarried Alicia Clements, youngest daughter of Nathaniel Clements and Hannah Gore, on 22 August 1773. His only son by his second marriage predeceased him in 1789. Alicia died in 1795 and was buried, like her son, at Clifton Church in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Lord Ross, as he was now, survived her until 1802 and was succeeded in the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

by his nephew Ralph; his other titles became extinct.

Belle Isle

Belle Isle (previously known, in

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

times, as Ballymacmanus Island or ''Senadh-Mic-Maghnusa'' or, simply, ''Senad''Brian G. Scott (General Editor), Claire Foley and Ronan McHugh, ''An Archaeological Survey of County Fermanagh: Volume I, Part 2 - The Early Christian and Medieval Periods'', p. 349.

Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Ori ...

(N.I.E.A.),

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, and Colourpoint Books,

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

, 2014.), near

Lisbellaw Lisbellaw () is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, about east of Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, betwee ...

, had been in the Gore family for generations, but it was Lord Ross's father who built the castle. His son, who was born there, spent many years improving and expanding Belle Isle Castle and creating a magnificent garden.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Ralph Gore, 1st Earl Of 1725 births 1802 deaths 19th-century Irish people Military personnel from County Fermanagh Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III High sheriffs of County Fermanagh High sheriffs of Donegal Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

33rd Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession