Thomas Kerr Lynch, Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 explorer, 1818-91.

A younger brother of Henry Blosse Lynch (1807-), Thomas was born at Party House, Ballinrobe

Ballinrobe

-Early history:Dating back to 1390, Ballinrobe is said to be the oldest town in South Mayo. The registry of the Dominican friary of Athenry mentions the monastery de Roba, an Augustinian friary whose recently restored ruins are one of the historical landmarks of the town today...

 (then in County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

 but now in County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

) to Major Henry Blosse Lynch. The major had served in the 73rd Regiment and had an estate of fifteen hundred acres north of Ballinrobe. The Lynch family were one of The Tribes of Galway, been descended from Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet

Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet

Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was the son of Nicholas Lynch fitz Stephen Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was the son of Nicholas Lynch fitz Stephen Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was...

 who died in 1635.

In 1837 he joined his brother Henry, who commanded an expedition up the river Tigris

Tigris

The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...

 to Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, a previously unaccomplished voyage.
Thomas went on to establish a steamer service on the Tigris linking Baghdad with India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. In the 1850s, Thomas, who had by then travelled extensively throughout Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...

 and Persia, was appointed Consul-General for Persia in London. He was made a Knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 of the Order of the Lion and the Sun

Order of the Lion and the Sun

The Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials who had rendered distinguished services to Persia. In 1925, under the Pahlavi dynasty the Order continued as the Order of Homayoun with new insignia, though based on the...

.

Thomas Kerr Lynch died in London in 1891.