Sir Alexander MacDonnell, 1st Baronet (1794–1875) was an Irish civil servant, commissioner of national education in Ireland.

Life

MacDonnell, eldest son of the physician and polymath James MacDonnell, was born at

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 ...

in 1794. He gained a king's scholarship at Westminster School in 1809, and was elected in 1813 to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he held a studentship until 1826. He graduated B.A. 1816, and M.A. 1820, and won four university prizes—those for Latin and English verse and for the Latin and English essays – an accumulation of honours only once before achieved. He was called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, 23 November 1824, went the midland circuit, attended the Leicester and Northampton sessions, and served as a commissioner of inquiry into public charities. Of an exceedingly sensitive temperament, he broke down in pleading a case before a committee of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and, mortified beyond expression, renounced the bar, returned to Ireland, and accepted the position of chief clerk in the chief secretary's office under

Thomas Drummond Captain Thomas Drummond (10 October 1797 – 15 April 1840), from Edinburgh was a Scottish British Army officer, civil engineer and senior public official. He used the Drummond light which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of Great Br ...

(1797–1840). In 1839 he was appointed resident commissioner of the board of education, of which he became the presiding genius. While himself an ardent Protestant, he persistently sought to provide for his poorer countrymen the religious instruction of their choice. He was made a privy councillor of Ireland in 1846, resigned his commissionership in December 1871, and was created a baronet 20 January 1872. Study of the classics and history formed the chief solace of his retirement. During his tenure the Irish language went into serious decline as an English language only education system coupled with massive emigration caused irreparable cultural damage. He died at 32 Upper Fitzwilliam Street,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 21 January 1875, and was buried at Kilsharvan, near

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. He married in 1826 Barbara, eldest daughter of Hugh Montgomery of Benvarden,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and widow of Richard Staples. She died at Kilsharvan, 6 April 1865, leaving no issue.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonnell, Alexander, 1st Baronet 1794 births 1875 deaths Civil servants from Belfast Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Civil servants in Ireland (1801–1922) Members of the Privy Council of Ireland