Richard White, 1st Earl of Bantry (6 August 1767 – 2 May 1851) 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 and peer. White was born in a

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

family in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was the son and heir of Simon White of Bantry by his wife Frances Jane Hedges, daughter of Richard Hedges of

Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...

Castle. He was the grandson of Richard White, who had made an immense fortune through his work as a lawyer, and the family owned extensive estates in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. In 1797, White led forces loyal to the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

against a French invasion force, which had landed at Bantry Bay in order to support Irish rebels in the lead up to the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

. For his loyalty to

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, he was created Baron Bantry 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 ...

on 24 March 1797. He was also awarded a gold medal as a token of thanks from the City of Cork. He was further honoured on 29 December 1800, when he was created Viscount Bantry. Lord Bantry was awarded an earldom on 22 January 1816 when he was made Earl of Bantry and Viscount Beerhaven, both titles in the Peerage of Ireland. He lived at Bantry House, Cork. He married Lady Margaret Anne Hare, the daughter of William Hare, 1st Earl of Listowel, on 3 November 1799.William Courthope, ''Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland'' (J. G. & F. Rivington, 1838), 596. They had four children: * Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry (1800–1868) * William Hedges-White, 3rd Earl of Bantry (1801–1884) *Hon. Simon White, an officer in the British Army (1807–1837) *Hon. Lady Maria White (1805–1817)

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bantry, Richard White, 1st Earl of 1767 births 1851 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people