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Thomas Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth (16 November 1717 – 11 January 1799) 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 ...
politician and peer. He was also the last man to be summoned to parliament as Baron Athenry. Bermingham was the son of Francis Bermingham, 14th Baron Athenry, by his first marriage to Lady Mary Nugent, daughter of Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath.''The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Ireland'' ( W. Owen nd 2 others 1790), pp. 93-95. He was elected to 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, ...
as Member of Parliament 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 ...
, sitting between 1745 and 1750, when on 4 March 1750 he succeeded his father as Baron Athenry and became a member of the
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...
. He was invested as a member of the
Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
, but was ejected from it in 1767 by Lord Townshend, the newly arrived
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
, who wished to make a "clean sweep" of the Irish administration, removing all those he regarded as corrupt or inefficient. On 23 April 1759 Lord Athenry was created Earl of Louth 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 ...
, a title previously held by
John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth John de Bermingham, 1st and last Earl of Louth (died 13 June 1329) was an Irish peer. He was the commander of the Anglo-Irish army in the Battle of Faughart, the decisive battle in the Irish Bruce Wars 1315–1318. In this battle, Edward Bru ...
, a cousin of his remote ancestor Rickard de Bermingham.


Marriages and children

He married, firstly, Jane Bingham, the daughter of Sir John Bingham, 5th Baronet, and Anne Vesey, in November 1745. He married, secondly, Margaret Daly, the daughter of Peter Daly and Elizabeth Blake, on 10 January 1750. He died in 1799 and is buried in the Dominican Friary at
Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...
, founded by his ancestor in 1241. His property was divided between his three daughters and their families. He left no surviving male issue, so his earldom became extinct.''The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Ireland'' ( W. Owen nd 2 others 1790), 93-95. The barony fell into abeyance and became dormant: among those who unsuccessfully claimed it after him were his grandson Thomas Sewell, and the family of
John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', the ''Axis of Time'' trilogy, and the well-received space opera series, the ''Cruel Stars'' trilogy. ...
. His daughters were- *Elizabeth, who married firstly Thomas Bailey Heath Sewell (son of Sir Thomas Sewell,
Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...
) secondly Francis Duffield and thirdly Joseph Russell *Mary, married
William St Lawrence, 2nd Earl of Howth William St Lawrence, 2nd Earl of Howth (4 October 1752 - 4 April 1822) was an Anglo-Irish peer, styled Viscount St Lawrence from 1767 to 1801. Life St Lawrence was the eldest son of Thomas St Lawrence, 1st Earl of Howth and Isabella King, daug ...
*Louisa, married firstly
Joseph Blake, 1st Baron Wallscourt Joseph Henry Blake, 1st Baron Wallscourt (5 October 1765 – 28 March 1803), was an Irish politician. Blake was the eldest son of Joseph Blake and Honoria Daly, daughter of Dermot Daly. He was returned to the Irish House of Commons for County G ...
and secondly James Daly. In recent research on Irish slave owning families, 'John Bermingham' was shown in 1798 as the owner of an estate called Dalgin 'a la cote orientale de Demerarie.' This may be John Bermingham commonly called Lord Baron Athenry but also conceivably his nephew John, son of Edward Bermingham and Ann Waddell, who died in 1811. In a Will of John Bermingham commonly called Lord Baron Athenry of Daligan House, Galway proved 27/06/1803. He left his real estate, including unspecified estates in South America and the West Indies, in trust for his three natural children, Michael, Thomas and Edward.


References

* ''History of Galway'',
James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...
,
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, 1820 * ''The Abbey of Athenry'', Martin J. Blake, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, volume II, part ii, 1902 * ''The Birmingham family of Athenry'', H.T. Knox, J.G.A.H.S., volume ten, numbers iii and iv, 1916–17. * ''The Birmingham chalice'', J. Rabbitte, volume 17, i and ii, 1936–37 Politicians from County Galway
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Irish MPs 1727–1760 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 1717 births 1799 deaths Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Place of birth missing {{Ireland-earl-stub