Denis Daly PC (1747 - 1791)

Born 1747 in County Cavan, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

Denis Daly PC is Notable.

Rt. Hon. Denis Daly was born in 1747. ^[1] He was the son of James Daly and Catherine Gore.^[2]

He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, but there is no record of his taking a degree there. Daly owned estates in County Mayo, County Galway, County Clare, and County Limerick. He had to sell off half of these estates to pay his debts, but on his marriage to Lady Henrietta Maxwell, the only daughter of Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham and Henrietta Cantillon, widow of the 3rd Earl of Stafford, his fortunes once again increased. His family residence was Carrownakelly Castle, in the parish of Kiltullagh, where the Dalys had lived for several generations, but he moved some four miles south towards Loughrea where he built Dunsandle House, sometime in the mid-18th century. In 1769 and 1772 he served as Mayor of Galway.

Daly was a friend of Henry Grattan, who had a great respect for his political skills, and like him sat in the Irish House of Commons. Between 1767 and 1768, he was Member of Parliament for Galway Borough. Subsequently, he represented Galway County until 1790, and then again Galway Borough until 1792. In 1783, he was also elected for the latter constituency, but chose not to sit. He never held high Ministerial office but was appointed Muster Master General. He was a fine orator but did not often speak in Parliament; when he did it was usually from a carefully prepared script. He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.). He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Galway [Ireland]. He lived at Dunsandle, County Galway, Ireland. ^[3]

He married Lady Henrietta Maxwell, daughter of Robert Maxwell, 1st and last Earl of Farnham and Henrietta Cantillon, in 1780.

His eldest son James represented Galway County in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and was later raised to the peerage. A younger son, Robert, was a leading Irish evangelical who became Bishop of Cashel and Waterford, and was noted for his hostitlity to Roman Catholics. He also had six daughters. His widow died at a great age in 1852.

He was described by Grattan as 'one of the best and brightest characters that Ireland ever produced, and said that his early death was a tragedy for his country. Grattan even suggested that Daly's wisdom and moderation, had he lived, might have prevented the Irish Rebellion of 1798. He had a reputation for laziness, but he was intelligent, good humoured and a fine classical scholar.

He died on 10 October 1791.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 110.
2. ↑ Sir Bernard Burke, C.B. LL.D., A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, new edition (1883; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978), page 49.
3. ↑ BP2003 volume 1, page 976. See link for full details for this source.
4. ↑ BIFR1976 page 314. See link for full details for this source.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Denis Daly (died 1791)

• Wikidata: Item Q5257189, en:Wikipedia