Baron Fermoy is a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. The title was created by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of 10 September 1856 for Edmond Roche. Previous letters patent had been issued on 14 May 1855 which purported to create this barony for Roche, but these were ruled invalid in 1856. Under the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

, three pre-1801 Irish peerages had to go extinct for each new Irish peerage created. The three extinct peerages cited in 1855 were Viscounts

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and Tyrconnel, and the Earl of Mountrath. However, although the earldom went extinct in 1802 with the death of the 7th Earl of Mountrath, the

subsidiary title A subsidiary title is a title of authority or title of honour that is held by a royal or noble person but which is not regularly used to identify that person, due to the concurrent holding of a greater title. United Kingdom An example in the Uni ...

of Baron Castle Coote passed by special remainder and remained extant (until 1827). As a result, the Committee for Privileges of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

reasoned that while the number of peerages had reduced in 1802, the number of peers had not, thus the 1855 patent was incompatible with the terms of the Act of Union. The 1856 patent substituted

Viscount O'Neill Viscount O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1795 for John O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill, who had earlier represented Randalstown and County Antrim in the Irish House of Comm ...

for Earl of Mountrath and was accepted.

History

The first Baron represented

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

and then

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in the British

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, taking the

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the day the spurious 1855 patent was issued. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of County Cork. His younger son, the third Baron, sat as an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament for Kerry East. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Baron, who represented

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

in Parliament as a

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. The title is currently held by his grandson, the sixth Baron, who succeeded his father in 1984. The family seat is Nethercote House, near Nethercote,

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. The first Baron was named after his relative

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

, and they are descended from the

House of Burke The House of Burgh (; ; ), also known by the family names of Burke and Bourke (), is an Ireland, Irish family, descending from the Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman de Burgh dynasty, who played a prominent role in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Irel ...

Royal connections

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, was a great-great-granddaughter of the 1st Baron Fermoy through her mother,

Frances Shand Kydd Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (previously Spencer, ''née'' Roche; 20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was the maternal grandmother of William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, respectively ...

. Shand Kydd was the younger daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy, a friend of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and the elder of the twin sons of the American heiress

Frances Ellen Work Frances Ellen Work (October 27 or 28, 1857 – January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. Early life Frances was born in New York City on October 27 or 28, 1857. She was a daughter of Franklin H. Work, a well-known stockbroker an ...

and her first husband, James Boothby Burke Roche, who, after their divorce, became the 3rd Baron Fermoy. Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, was a confidante and lady-in-waiting to

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

, and the founder of the annual

Festival (of classical music) in

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, England.

Barons Fermoy

* Edmond Burke Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy (1815–1874) * Edward FitzEdmund Burke Roche, 2nd Baron Fermoy (1850–1920) * James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1851–1920) * (Edmund) Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (1885–1955) * Edmund James Burke Roche, 5th Baron Fermoy (1939–1984) * (Patrick) Maurice Burke Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy (born 1967) The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

is the present holder's brother, Edmund Hugh Burke Roche (born 1972).
The heir presumptive's

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

is his son, Archie Edmund Roche (born 2007).

Male-line family tree

Line of succession

'' Edmund Burke Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy (1815–1874)'' ** Coronet of a British Baron

'' Edward FitzEdmund Burke Roche, 2nd Baron Fermoy (1850–1920)'' ** Coronet of a British Baron

'' James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1851–1920)'' *** Coronet of a British Baron

'' (Edmund) Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (1885–1955)'' **** Coronet of a British Baron

'' Edmund James Burke Roche, 5th Baron Fermoy (1939–1984)'' ***** Coronet of a British Baron

(Patrick) Maurice Burke Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy (born 1967) ***** (1) ''Hon.'' Edmund Hugh Burke Roche (born 1972) ****** (2) Archie Edmund Roche (born 2007) ** ''Hon. Alexis Charles Burke Roche (1853–1914)'' *** ''George Denis Burke Roche (1893–1954)'' **** ''Alexis Martinus Burke Roche (1922–1989)'' ***** (3) Peter Martin Burke Roche (born 1974)

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fermoy Baronies in the Peerage of Ireland 1856 establishments in Ireland Noble titles created in 1856 Peerages created for UK MPs