Richard FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Gowran (died 9 June 1727) was a British naval captain.

Life

He was the second son of John Fitzpatrick of Castletown, Queen's County, by Elizabeth, fourth daughter of

Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles (before 1596 – 1619) was the son and heir apparent of Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond (1559–1633), whom he predeceased. He lived at the Westgate Castle in Thurles, County Tipperary. He was accused of tr ...

, and relict of James Purcell of Loughmoe. He entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and was appointed, on 14 May 1687 commander of . On 24 May 1688, he was made captain of , from which in 1689 he was transferred to HMS ''Lark'', in which he cruised against the French in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Having distinguished himself on that station, he was advanced on 11 January 1690 to the command of , a

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

, with which on 18 July he captured off

Rame Head Rame Head or Ram Head () is a coastal headland, southwest of the village of Rame in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is part of the larger Rame Peninsula. History and antiquities The natural site was used for a promontory ...

a French frigate of 36 guns, after a fight of four hours, in which the enemy lost forty men killed and wounded, the casualties on board ''St Albans'' being only four; and the French ship was so shattered that she had to be towed into Plymouth. In February 1690–1, he drove on shore two French frigates and helped to cut out fourteen merchantmen from a convoy of twenty-two. In command of the 70-gun , he served under Lord Berkeley in 1696, and in July was detached to make a descent on the

Groix Groix (; ) is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Groix lies a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix. There are a few small ...

, an island near

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

, off the west coast of Brittany, from which he brought off thirteen hundred head of cattle, with horses, boats, and small vessels. He was promoted to the command of the 80-gun on the outbreak of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, and took part in

James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the Earl of Ormond (Ireland), earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, ...

's mismanaged expedition against Cadiz in 1702, and in the successful attack on Vigo which followed; but soon after retired from the service. In 1696, he had received a grant of the town and lands of Grantstown and other lands in Queen's County by King William III in consideration of their faithful services, and 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, ...

in 1713 as the member for Queen's County until he was raised to the Irish peerage on 27 April 1715 as

Baron Gowran Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

of Gowran, Kilkenny. He took his seat on 12 November, and on 14 November helped to prepare an address to the king congratulating him upon his accession. He died on 9 June 1727.

Family

Fitzpatrick married in 1718 Anne, younger daughter of Sir John Robinson of Farmingwood, Northamptonshire, by whom he had two sons,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Richard. The widowed Lady Gowran lived with her son John in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

. John was later promoted to the Irish earldom of

Upper Ossory Upper Ossory () was an administrative barony in the south and west of Queen's County (now County Laois) in Ireland. In late Gaelic Ireland it was the túath of the Mac Giolla Phádraig ( Fitzpatrick) family and a surviving remnant of the once l ...

on 5 October 1751, and was father of

Richard Fitzpatrick General Richard FitzPatrick (24 January 174825 April 1813), styled The Honourable from birth, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, wit, poet, and Whig politician. He sat in the British House of Commons for 39 years from 1774 to 1813 and was a "sworn br ...

Notes

References

;Attribution *; Endnotes: **Charnock's Biography. Navalis, ii. 134–8 **Burchell's Naval History, pages 545, 547 **Luttrell's Relation of State Affairs, ii. 80, 435 **Hist. Reg. Chronicles Diary (1727), page 23 **Lodge's Peerage of Ireland (Archdall), ii. 347. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gowran, Richard FitzPatrick Year of birth missing 1727 deaths Military personnel from County Laois Irish officers in the Royal Navy Royal Navy captains 17th-century Irish nobility Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George I

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Queen's County constituencies Irish MPs 1713–1714