Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet (died 1635) was an Irish baronet,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, lawyer, and

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

(i.e. estate manager). Lynch was among the first of his family to become a lawyer, and several of his younger sons followed him into this profession, as did, under his influence,

Patrick D'Arcy Patrick D'Arcy (1598–1668) was an Irish Catholic Confederate and lawyer who wrote the constitution of Confederate Ireland. Background Born in County Galway, Ireland, D'Arcy was the youngest son of James Riabhach D'Arcy by his second marria ...

, Richard Martyn, and Geoffrey Browne as well as many of the later generations of the

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

Birth and origins

Henry was born the eldest of the 12 sons of Nicholas FitzStephen Lynch. His father was mayor of Galway 1584–1585. Henry was a great-grandson of Mayor Arthur Lynch (died 1539). His father's family was one of the 14 merchant families known as the

. Nothing seems to be known about his mother.

Marriage and children

In or after 1603 Henry Lynch married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Martyn and widow of James D'Arcy. This made him the stepfather of

. Henry and Elizabeth had three sons: #Robuck (or Robert) (died 1667), his successor and

mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. Th ...

for 1638–39. #Nicholas, a student of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1634 #Maurice, married Janet, youngest daughter of Sir Peter French, knight —and three daughters: #Elizabeth, married Thomas Lynch, ancestor of the Lynchs of Drimcong #Mary (died 1671), married Geoffrey Browne of Galway #Elinor (died 1692), married Sir Valentine Blake, Baronet of Menlough

Later life

Lynch was the Galway

(i.e. estate manager) for

Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde Richard Burke (or de Burgh), 4th Earl of Clanricarde Privy Counsellor, PC (Ire) ( ; 1572 – 12 November 1635), styled Lord Dunkellin ( ) until 1601, was an Irish nobleman and politician. He was the son of Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde ...

, who lived in south-east England. Their surviving correspondence from to c. 1632 was published in 1996. He was a mentor to his stepson Patrick D'Arcy and his nephew Richard Martyn, who later became senior political figures of

Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic Church, Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1652, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristoc ...

. Lynch was created a baronet on 8 June 1622 and thus became Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet.

Lord Falkland Viscount Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The name refers to the royal burgh of Falkland in Fife. History The title was created in 1620 by King James VI for Sir Henry Cary, a member of the Cary family. He was born in Hertf ...

, the Lord Deputy, knighted Sir Henry in 1625. Sir Henry was

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

of Galway from 1625 to his death in 1635. He seems to have been the "Sir Henry Lynch", who was one of the 11 Irish agents who in 1628 negotiated with

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

for the Graces. Together with Sir Lucas Dillon he represented

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

among these agents. Sir Henry shortly sat for

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

in the parliament of 1634–1635. He was elected in June 1634 but fell ill and was replaced by Sir Richard Blake in a by-election in December. The parliamentary records indicate that he lived in Galway but also at Castle Carra in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Death and succession

Sir Henry Lynch died 21 February 1635 and was buried in the church of St Nicholas in Galway. He was succeeded by his eldest son Robert as 2nd Baronet.

Birth and origins

Marriage and children

Later life

Death and succession

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

Further reading