Valentine Lawless, 4th Baron Cloncurry (2 November 1840 – 12 February 1928) was an Irish nobleman. Valentine was the eldest son of Edward Lawless, 3rd Baron Cloncurry, and his wife Elizabeth (née Kirwan). His sister was the noted writer and scientist

Emily Lawless The Hon. Emily Lawless (17 June 184519 October 1913) was an Irish novelist, historian, entomologist, gardener, and poet from County Kildare. Her innovative approach to narrative and the psychological richness of her fiction have been identified ...

. Valentine was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and in 1861 graduated from

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

He was appointed captain of the Kildare militia in 1860 and was

High Sheriff of Kildare The High Sheriff of Kildare was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kildare, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kildare County Sheriff. Th ...

in 1867. He succeeded to the barony in April 1869, aged 28, after his father's

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Valentine married Laura Sophia Priscilla Winn, daughter of

Rowland Winn, 1st Baron St Oswald Rowland Winn, 1st Baron St Oswald (19 February 1820 – 19 January 1893) was an English industrialist and Conservative Party politician. He was instrumental in promoting and developing the ironstone ore fields in North Lincolnshire leading to ...

on 23 January 1883; they had two daughters: *

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Mary Hermione Lawless (1886–1922) *The Hon. Kathleen Emily Marie Lawless (1888–1957) Laura (Baroness Cloncurry) died in 1891. Politically, the 4th baron was a Unionist, and during the

Land War The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...

(1879–82) he was chairman of the Property Defence Association, an organisation set up by

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

s to oppose the

Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...

, which he considered an "organised combination to defraud." Fearing

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

on the winding local roads, he built the "Lord's Road", a straight road from

Lyons Hill Lyons Hill or Lyons () is a townland and restored village in County Kildare. At a time when canal passenger boats travelled at , Lyons was the nearest overnight stop to Dublin on the Grand Canal. On the hilltop is a trigonometrical point used ...

to Hazelhatch railway station. In 1921 he attended the first meeting of the short-lived

Senate of Southern Ireland The Senate of Southern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, established in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act stipulated that there be 64 senators, but only 39 were selected and the Senate met onl ...

. He lived at the family seats at Lyons Castle, County Kildare;

Abington, County Limerick Abington () is a civil parish which lies partly in County Tipperary (in the barony of Owney and Arra) and partly in County Limerick (partly in Limerick city and partly in the baronies of Clanwilliam and Owneybeg). It was home for a time to t ...

; and "Maretimo" in

Blackrock, Dublin Blackrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. It is named after the local geological rock formation to be found in the area of Blackrock Park. In the late 18th century, the Blackrock Ro ...

. He died in 1928 and, as he had no sons, was succeeded by his younger brother

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

. He was

in 1867.

References

* ''Burke's Irish Family Records'', Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ed., 1976, p. 38. * ''The Complete Peerage'', volume XIV, 1998, p. 502. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloncurry, Valentine Lawless, 4th Baron 1840 births 1928 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford High sheriffs of Kildare People educated at Eton College