Sir Frederick Flood, 1st Baronet, KC (1741–1 February 1824), was an Irish lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in 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, ...

from 1776 until 1801, and then later an MP in the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1801 until 1818. Flood opposed the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

that merged the Kingdoms of

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 ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. He sat as a member of the united Parliament in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Family and early life

Flood was the younger son of John Flood of Farmley,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, and nephew of

Warden Flood Warden Flood (1694 – 16 April 1764) was an Irish judge who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, but is mainly remembered now as the natural father of the statesman Henry Flood. He was born at Burnchurch in County Kilkenny, son of Fr ...

, chief justice of the court of king's bench in

, the father of the Right Hon.

Henry Flood Henry Flood (1732 – 2 December 1791) was an Irish people, Irish politician, statesman and Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he becam ...

. He was born in 1741, and was educated at

Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public se ...

and 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 ...

, where he proceeded B.A. in 1761, M.A. in 1764, LL.B. in 1766, and LL.D. in 1772. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1763, soon attained considerable legal practice, and in the social circles of

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 ...

was immensely popular from his wit and oddity. He married twice; firstly Lady Juliana Annesley, the daughter of Richard Annesley, 6th Earl of Anglesey and secondly Frances, the daughter of

Sir Henry Cavendish, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Cavendish, 1st Baronet (13 April 1707 – 31 May 1776), was a British politician who held several appointments in the Kingdom of Ireland. Biography Cavendish was the son of William Cavendish and Mary Tyrell. He was descended from Sir ...

of Doveridge, with whom he had an only surviving daughter Frances, who married Richard Solly of Walthamstow and York Place, London, whose son Frederick became Sir Fredericks's heir. He succeeded to handsome estates, including Ballynaslaney House, County Wexford from both his parents, and in 1776 was elected to the

as MP for

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

Political career

He sat for Enniscorthy until 1783. From 1783 to 1790 he was MP for Ardfert, and in 1796–7 for the borough of

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

. His relationship to Henry Flood did more for his reputation than his own abilities, and he consistently followed in his cousin's footsteps. In 1778 he was made a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

and was elected a bencher of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

. He was the

Custos Rotulorum of County Wexford The Custos Rotulorum of County Wexford was the highest civil officer in County Wexford. Incumbents * ?–?1783 Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely (died 1783) * 1807–?1824 Sir Frederick Flood, 1st Baronet (died 1824) * 1824-?1845 John Loftus, 2nd ...

. On 3 June 1780 he was created a

baronet 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 ...

in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

''of Newton Ormonde on the County of Kilkenny and of Banna Lodge in the County of Wexford.'' Two years later he married Lady Juliana Annesley, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 5th Earl of Anglesey, and he took a prominent part in the volunteer movement, being elected colonel of the Wexford regiment. In many debates which preceded the abolition of the Irish parliament Flood was a frequent speaker. Sir Jonah Barrington calls him an ostentatious blunderer, whose 'bulls' did not contain the pith of sound sense which underlay the mistakes of

Sir Boyle Roche Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736, as cited in Some sources, including earlier versions of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', give the date as 1743. However, since the later date would make Roche rather young to have served wit ...

. He adds that Flood would rashly accept any suggestions made to him while speaking, and one day, just after he had declared "that the magistrates of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

deserved the thanks of the lord-lieutenant", he added, on some wit's suggestion, "and should be whipped at the cart's tail".(Barrington, Personal Sketches, i. 111). He steadily opposed the Act of Union. He later sat in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

for

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

from 1812 to 1818. He made no particular impression there.

Later life

His only son died unmarried in 1800, and it was proposed to perpetuate Flood's title by creating him a baronet of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with remainder to his only daughter Frances, who was married to Richard Solly, esq. He died on 1 February 1824, before the patent for this new honour had passed the great seal, and left his estates to his grandson, Frederick, who took the name of Flood in addition to his own.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Frederick 1741 births 1824 deaths People educated at Kilkenny College Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Politicians from County Kilkenny Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kerry constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Carlow constituencies Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wexford constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1812–1818 Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland 18th-century King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel 18th-century Irish lawyers