Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount Wicklow PC (I) (29 August 1727 – 26 June 1789) 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 ...

politician and nobleman.

Early life

Ralph Howard was born on 29 August 1727 at Shelton Abbey,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, the eldest son of seven children born to the former Patience Boleyn and the Rt. Rev. Robert Howard (1670–1740),

Bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but ...

. His paternal grandfather was Dr. Ralph Howard. His maternal grandparents were Godfrey Boleyn of Fennor,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

( a distant connection of the family of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

), and Mary Singleton, sister of Henry Singleton,

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the ...

Career

Howard was High Sheriff of Wicklow in 1749, and of

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

in 1754. In 1761 and 1768 he was elected MP for both

and the borough of St Johnstown, choosing to sit for the county. In May 1770, he was appointed to 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 ...

and on 12 July 1776 Howard 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 Clonmore of Clonmore Castle, County Carlow. In June 1785 he was further honoured as Viscount Wicklow, but died a year later.

Personal life

On 11 August 1755, Howard was married to Alice Forward, the daughter and sole heiress of William Forward of Castle Forward in

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 ...

, and the former Isabella Stewart. Together, they were the parents of eleven children, including: * Robert Howard, 2nd Earl of Wicklow (1757–1815), a Representative Peer for Ireland from 1800 to 1815 who died unmarried. *

William Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow William Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow PC (I) (January 1761 – 27 September 1818), known as William Forward between 1780 and 1815, was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Early life Howard was the second son of Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount Wicklow ...

(1761–1818), who married Eleanor Caulfeild, the only daughter of Hon. Francis Caulfeild MP (second son of James Caulfeild, 3rd Viscount Charlemont) and the former Hon. Mary Eyre (only daughter and heiress of John Eyre, 1st Baron Eyre). * Hon. Hugh Howard (1761–1840), an MP who married Catharine Bligh, second daughter of Very Rev. Robert Bligh, Dean of Elphin, in 1792. * Hon. Henry Howard (d. 1793), who died in battle in Flanders. * Lady Mary Howard (d. 1798), who married Rev. Thomas Hore, second son of Walter Hore of Harperstown, in 1797. Lord Wicklow died on 26 June 1789 at his house in Rutland Square in Dublin. His widow was created Countess of Wicklow in her own right on 20 December 1793. She died on 7 March 1807. Their son, Robert Howard, succeeded her as Earl of Wicklow. Their great-grandnephew Ralph Howard became the seventh Earl of Wicklow.

Legacy

Howard's grave site, the Howard Mausoleum, has become a landmark due to the large

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

style marker.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicklow, Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount 1726 births 1786 deaths Howard, Ralph Howard, Ralph

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 ...

Howard, Ralph Howard, Ralph Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wicklow constituencies