John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
peer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
He was the son of Anthony Foster
Anthony Foster
Anthony Foster , of Collon, Co Louth, was an Irish politician.He was the son of John Foster of Dunleer and Elizabeth Fortesque. He was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland and represented Dunleer in the Irish House of Commons from 1738 to 1761 and subsequently Louth from 1761 to 1767.He...
of Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, an Irish judge (son of John Foster of Dunleer
John Foster of Dunleer
John Foster of Dunleer was elected member to the Irish House of Commons for the constituency of Dunleer, in County Louth. He formerly held the position of Mayor of Dunleer Corporation....
, MP for Dunleer). He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) to 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...
for Dunleer
Dunleer (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Dunleer was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1801.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Dunleer was not represented.-1692–1801:...
in 1761, a seat he held until 1769. He made his mark in financial and commercial questions, being appointed Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was a member of the government of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under the Kingdom of Ireland. He headed the Exchequer of Ireland and sat as an MP in the Irish House of Commons....
in 1784. His law giving bounties on the exportation of corn and imposing heavy taxes on its importation is noted by William Lecky as responsible for making Ireland an arable instead of a pasture country. In 1785 he became Speaker 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...
.
Navan (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Navan was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
and in 1783 for Sligo Borough
Sligo Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Sligo Borough was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
. Both times he had also stood for Louth
Louth (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Louth was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1801.-1692–1801:-References:...
, which constituency he then chose to represent. He held this seat until the Act of Union in 1801, which he opposed. He ultimately refused to surrender the Speaker's mace, which was kept by his family. Foster was returned to the united parliament as a member for County Louth
County Louth (UK Parliament constituency)
County Louth, otherwise known as Louth County or Louth, is a former parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, and in 1804 became Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was a member of the government of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under the Kingdom of Ireland. He headed the Exchequer of Ireland and sat as an MP in the Irish House of Commons....
under Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
. In 1821 he was created a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Oriel, of Ferrard, in the County of Louth, and died on the 23rd of August 1828.
His elder son, John Foster, was MP for Dunleer 1790-92 and dvp before 18 April 1782. That John should not be confused with John William Foster
John William Foster
John William Foster , of Rosy Park, was an Irish volunteer and politician.He was the son of John Foster of Dunleer, MP for Dunleer and Elizabeth, née Fortescue. Foster was appointed High Sheriff of Louth for 1776 and then elected member to the Irish House of Commons for Dunleer in 1783 and held...
, MP for Dunleer
Dunleer
Dunleer is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland.Dunleer town is situated midway between Dundalk and Drogheda. It is the principal Town Borough in the Barony of Ferrard. It has a Charter dating back to 1252...
.
His wife (d. 1824) had in 1790 been created an Irish peeress, as Baroness Oriel, and in 1797 Viscountess Ferrard; and their younger son, Thomas Henry
Thomas Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Ferrard
Thomas Henry Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Ferrard , styled The Honourable from 1790 until 1821, was an Irish peer and politician-Background:...
(1772–1843), who married Viscountess Massereene (in her own right) and took the name of Skeffington, inherited all these titles; the later Viscounts Massereene
Viscount Massereene
Viscount Massereene is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1660, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Loughneugh. From 1665 to 1816 the Skeffington Baronetcy of Fisherwick was attached to the viscountcy and from 1756 to 1816 the Viscounts also held the title of Earl of Massereene...
being their descendants.
One of his first cousins married Elizabeth Hervey
Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , , is best known as an early woman novelist, and as the close friend of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire...
, aka Lady Bess Foster, aka Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire. His younger brother was Lord Bishop Foster
William Foster (bishop)
William Foster, D.D. was a Church of Ireland bishop.The younger son of Anthony Foster he was chaplain to the Irish House of Commons . Then successively Bishop of Cork and Ross , Bishop of Kilmore and Bishop of Clogher.-Family:He married Catharina-Letitia daughter of Rev. Dr...
.
External links
Biography & Letters
APW Malcomson: "John Foster: The politics of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy" ISBN 0199200874 - 504 pages - 1978 Oxford: Oxford University PressAPW Malcomson: *An Anglo-Irish Dialogue: A Calendar of the Correspondence between John Foster and Lord Sheffield 1774-1821" ISBN 0905691008 - 102 pages - 1975 Belfast: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland