Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond
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Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond KP PC (1726 – 17 February 1808), known from 1777 to 1800 as the 5th Earl of Inchiquin, was an Irish peer.
He joined the Grenadier Guards and was an officer in Germany, where he carried colours at the Battle of Lauffeld in 1747. He retired in 1756.
On 29 December 1800 he was created Marquess of Thomond in the Peerage of Ireland, with a special remainder to his younger brother, and Baron Thomond of Taplow in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 2 October 1801, but this time with no special remainder. He had a close relationship with King George III. In 1783 he was one of the Founding Knights of the Order of St Patrick. Despite his support of the Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland, he was not made a representative peer of Ireland. His Irish seat was Rostellan, near Cork.
He was a drinker, called a "'six bottle man", and a gambler. He had a zest for life. He was a keen farmer and oversaw enclosure of lands around Taplow and mechanisation.
He married Mary O'Brien, 3rd Countess of Orkney (d.1790) in 1753, with whom he had a daughter, Mary O'Brien, 4th Countess of Orkney (b.1755). He also is reputed to have had an illegitimate son, Thomas Carter (1768-1800), who was a popular singer in London during the 1790s. Thomas lived with Inchiquin at Taplow Court after his return from India around 1788, and lent the earl all the money he earned in a benefit concert in Calcutta. In return, Inchiquin recommended Thomas to all his friends as a coal merchant; he had gone into that field after his marriage to Mary Wells in 1793 in order to support his growing family).
Then in 1792, he married Mary Palmer, the niece and a beneficiary of Joshua Reynolds (painter). She paid his debts.
He died after a fall from his horse in Grosvenor Square, London on 10 February 1808). The barony of Thomond became extinct on his death.
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| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Graydon and Agmondisham Vesey |
Member of Parliament for Harristown (two seat constituency) with Edward Sandford 1761–1768 |
Succeeded by Garret FitzGerald and Robert Graydon |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by George Fitzwilliam and Marquess of Graham |
Member of Parliament for Richmond, North Yorkshire (with Charles Dundas, to 1786; Sir Grey Cooper, 1786–1790; Lawrence Dundas, from 1790) 1784–1796 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Dundas and Charles George Beauclerk |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Marquess of Thomond 1800–1808 |
Succeeded by William O'Brien |
| Preceded by William O'Brien |
Earl of Inchiquin 1777–1808 |
|
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Thomond 1801–1808 |
Succeeded by Title Extinct |
