Irish Pedigrees: O'Brien - Viscounts Clare (#3)

From Irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation, by John O'Hart

Carrigholt Castle

SIR DONAL, the third son of Connor O'Brien, the third Earl of Thomond, who is No. 123 on the "O'Brien" (Kings of Thomond) pedigree, was the ancestor of this branch of that family:

124. Sir Donal: son of Connor; Lord of Moyarta and Carrignoulta (now Carrigaholt); created Viscount Clare by King Charles II., in 1662; m. Catherine, dau. of Gerald, Earl of Desmond, and d. in 1662, leaving:

I. Connor of whom presently.II. Donogh, who d. 6 August, 1638.III. Murrough: who left issue.IV. Teige, who m. Mary, dau. of Gerald Fitzgerald of Ballighane.

125. Connor, the second Viscount: son of Sir Donal; d. in 1670; m. Honoria, dau. of Donal O'Brien, of Dough Castle, and had one son and six daughters:

I. Daniel, of whom presently.I. Margaret, who m. Hugh (FitzPhilip) O'Reilly, Lord of East Brefni.II. Ellen, who married Roger O'Shaughnessy of Gort.III. Honoria, who m. John FitzGerald, Knight of Kerry.IV. Catherine, whose second husband was John MacNamara, of Moyreisk.V. Sarah, who m. Donal O'Sullivan Beare.VI. Anne, who d. unm.

126. Daniel, the third Viscount: son of Connor; fought and fell at the Battle of the Boyne (false), in 1690, in the cause of King James II.; m. Philadelphia, eldest dau. of Francis Leonard, the Lord Darce, and sister to Thomas, Earl of Sussex, and had:

I. Daniel, the fourth Viscount, who d. unm. in 1697.II. Charles, the fifth Viscount. 

Clare's Regiment in the Service of France

127. Charles, the fifth Viscount Clare [1]: son of Daniel; was mortally wounded on "Ramillies' Bloody Field," on the 11th of May, 1706, and dying at Bruxelles was interred in the Irish Monastery in that city. He m. the dau. of Henry Buckley (Bulkeley), and had:

I. Charles, of whom presently.I. Laura, who m. the Count de Bretuil.

128. Charles, the sixth Viscount, who d. 1761: the son of Charles; was presented by his cousin Henry, Earl of Thomond, to King George the First, who assured the said Charles of pardon of the outlawry in which he continued by the attainder of his grandfather in 1691, provided he (No. 128) conformed to the Protestant Religion; but Charles declined, and joined the Irish Brigade in the service of France. He commanded at Fontenoy [2] (1745), and distinguished himself at the head of the Irish Troops in that well-contested field; and on the eve of that Battle was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Genera], and Marshal of Thomond, Governor of New Brisack (in Alsace); and Captain-General of the Province of Languedock, for his distinguished services at Laufeldt, in 1747. In 1755, he m. Mary-Genevieve-Louisa Ganthier de Chiffreville, Marchioness de Chiffreville, in Normandy, and had a son and a daughter:

I. Charles, of whom presently.I. Antonietta-Maria-Septimanie, who m. the Duke de Choiseuil-Praslin, and had issue.

129. Charles, seventh Viscount, who d. s. p. at Paris, 29th Dec., 1774; since which time the title has remained in abeyance. 

NOTE

[1] Viscount Clare: This is the Lord Clare to whom the following lines refer:

  "When, on Ramillies' Bloody Field,The baffled French were forced to yield,

  "The victor Saxon backward reeled Before the charge of Clare's Dragoons. 

     CHORUS. "Viva la, for Ireland's wrong!Viva la, for Ireland's right!Viva la, in battle throng,

                       "For a Spanish steed, and sabre bright!"

[2] Fontenoy; At Fontenoy the Irish saved France from defeat when the battle was almost won by the English. As a last resource, Marshal Saxe ordered up his last reserve, the Irish Brigade, of which this Viscount Clare held the command:

"Lord Clare," he says, "you have your wish; there are your Saxon foes!" The Marshal almost smiles to see, so furiously he goes! How fierce the look these exiles wear, who're wont to be so gay: The treasured wrongs of fifty years are in their hearts to-day: The Treaty broken, ere the ink wherewith 'twas writ could dry, Their plundered homes, their ruined shrines, their women's parting cry, Their priesthood hunted down like wolves, their country overthrown; Each looks as if revenge for all were staked on him alone."On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy;" nor ever yet elsewhere Rushed on to fight a nobler band than these proud exiles were.