Earl of Mayo
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. It was created in 1785 for John Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo, for many years First Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland. He had already been created Baron Naas, of Naas
Naas
Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. With a population of just over twenty thousand, it is also the largest town in the county. Naas is a major commuter suburb, with many people residing there and working in Dublin...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
, in 1776, and Viscount Mayo, of Moneycrower in the County of Mayo, in 1781, also in the Peerage of Ireland. This branch of the Bourke family descends from John Bourke, fourth son of Sir Thomas Bourke (died 1397), whose second son Edmund was the ancestor of the Viscounts Mayo
Viscount Mayo
Viscount Mayo is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for members of the Bourke family. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Tiobóid na Long Bourke, also known as Theobald Bourke. He was the son of Sir Richard Bourke and Gráinne O'Malley. The second...
of the first creation in 1626. Before becoming Viscounts and Earls of Mayo the heads of the family held the Gaelic title Mac William Íochtar
Mac William Íochtar
Mac William Íochtar was a term meaning both a territory and a title in Ireland. The territory covered much of the northern part of the province of Connacht. The Mac William Íochtar functioned as a regional king and received the White Rod...
and received the White Rod. The Earls of Clanricarde
Earl of Clanricarde
Earl of Clanricarde is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is still extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 1916....
were members of another branch of the De Burgh dynasty.
Lord Mayo was succeeded by his eldest son John, the second Earl, who was a member of the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
. On his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Earl. He was a prominent clergyman and served as Bishop of Leighlin from 1772 to 1782 and as Archbishop of Tuam from 1782 to 1794. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl. He sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as an Irish representative peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
from 1816 to 1849. On his death the titles passed to his nephew, the fifth Earl. He was an Irish representative peer in the House of Lords from 1852 to 1867.
His eldest son, the sixth Earl, was a prominent Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. Known for most of his life under his courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
of Lord Naas, he was three times Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
and served as Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
from 1869 to 1872, when he was assassinated on the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the seventh Earl. He sat in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer from 1890 to 1927 and was a Member of the Senate of the Irish Free State
Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...
from 1922 to 1927. This line of the family expired on his death in 1927 and the titles passed to the late Earl's first cousin, the eighth Earl. He was the son of the Reverend The Hon. George Wingfield Bourke, fourth son of the fifth Earl. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the ninth Earl. On his death in 1962 the peerages passed to his nephew, the tenth Earl. He was the only son of the Hon. Bryan Longley Bourke, third son of the eighth Earl. The tenth Earl was involved in British politics and unsuccessfully contested South Dorset in the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. , the titles are held by his eldest son, the eleventh Earl, Charles Diarmuid John Bourke, who succeeded in 2006. The present Earl was educated at Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School
Portora Royal School for boys, and some 6th form girls, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608, by James I...
, Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
, Queen's University Belfast and Bolton Street College of Technology, Dublin. He married Marie Antoinette Cronnelly in 1975. Lord Mayo is a marble specialist like his father, whose children are Roman Catholics, reverting to pre-peerage family tradition.
Several other members of the Bourke family have also gained distinction. The Right Reverend The Hon. Richard Bourke, second son of the third Earl and father of the fifth Earl, was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore
Diocese of Waterford
The Diocese of Waterford was established in the year AD 1096; it was renamed as the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore on 16 June 1363 . It has remained an independent diocese in the Roman Catholic Church...
. The Hon. John Jocelyn Bourke (1823–1904), second son of the fifth Earl, was a lieutenant-general in the Army. The Hon. Robert Bourke
Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara
Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara GCIE, PC was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator...
was a Conservative politician and was created Baron Connemara in 1887. Sir George Deane Bourke, grandson of Reverend the Hon. George Theobald Bourke, fourth son of the third Earl, was a major-general in the Army.
The courtesy title of Lord Mayo's eldest son and heir is Lord Naas .
Earls of Mayo (1785)
- John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo (c. 1705–1790)
- John Bourke, 2nd Earl of Mayo (c. 1735–1792)
- Joseph Deane Bourke, 3rd Earl of Mayo (c. 1740–1794)
- John Bourke, 4th Earl of MayoJohn Bourke, 4th Earl of MayoJohn Bourke, 4th Earl of Mayo, GCH, PC was an Irish peer and courtier, styled Lord Naas from 1792 until 1794....
(1766–1849) - Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo (1797–1867)
- Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of MayoRichard Bourke, 6th Earl of MayoRichard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo KP, GMSI, PC , styled Lord Naas between 1842 and 1867, was a statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party from Dublin, Ireland....
(1822–1872) - Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of MayoDermot Bourke, 7th Earl of MayoDermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo KP PC was an Irish peer, styled Lord Naas from 1867 to 1872. He succeeded as Earl of Mayo on on the death of his father Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo in 1872...
(1851–1927) - Walter Longley Bourke, 8th Earl of Mayo (1859–1939)
- Ulick Henry Bourke, 9th Earl of Mayo] (1890–1962)
- Terence Patrick Bourke, 10th Earl of MayoTerence Bourke, 10th Earl of MayoTerence Patrick Bourke, 10th Earl of Mayo spent much of his life in England, before moving to Ireland and finally France. He was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm, ran a printing company, attempted to be elected as an MP in England, ran a marble quarrying company, and finally bred deer in south-west...
(1929–2006) - Charles Diarmuidh John Bourke, 11th Earl of Mayo (b. 1953)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's eldest son Richard Thomas Bourke, Lord Naas (b. 1985)
See also
- Viscount MayoViscount MayoViscount Mayo is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for members of the Bourke family. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Tiobóid na Long Bourke, also known as Theobald Bourke. He was the son of Sir Richard Bourke and Gráinne O'Malley. The second...
- Marquess of SligoMarquess of SligoMarquess of Sligo is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Mount Eagle, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Viscount Westport, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Earl of Altamont, in the...
- Baron Connemara
- Carter-Campbell of Possil