Denis Daly (1748 – 10 October 1791) of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle Castle,

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, was an Irish landowner and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Biography

His father was James Daly of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle Castle in County Galway, and his mother was Catherine Gore, daughter of

Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet Sir Ralph Gore, 4th Baronet (c. 1675 – 23 February 1733) was an Anglo-Irish Whig politician and baronet, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland from 1717 until his death, and concurrently Speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 17 ...

and his second wife Elizabeth Ashe. He was the eldest of five sons. His siblings included St George Daly, judge of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...

. He was the great-grandson of Denis Daly, judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

. Though traditionally

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and of

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

origin, the Dalys had been able to hold on to their lands by converting to the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

faith and forsaking their allegiance to the

Stuart dynasty The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been hel ...

. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, but there is no record of his taking a degree there.

Career

Daly owned estates in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, and

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. He had to sell off half of these estates to pay his debts, but on his marriage to Lady Henrietta Maxwell, 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

where he built Dunsandle House, sometime in the mid-18th century. In 1769 and 1772 he served as

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. Th ...

Political career

Daly was a friend of

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

, who had great respect for his political skills, and like him sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

. Between 1767 and 1768, he was Member of Parliament for Galway Borough. Subsequently, he represented

until 1790, and then Galway Borough again 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 An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

but did not often speak in Parliament; when he did it was usually from a carefully prepared script.

Character

He had a reputation for laziness, but he was intelligent, good-humoured, and a fine classical scholar. Grattan called him one of the best and brightest characters Ireland had 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 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

Personal life

In 1780, Daly married Lady Henrietta Maxwell (d. 1852), the only daughter of

Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham Privy Council of Ireland, PC (c. 1720 – 16 November 1779), styled The Honourable Robert Maxwell from 1756 to 1759, was an Irish peer and a Member of both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ir ...

and Henrietta Cantillon, widow of the 3rd

Earl of Stafford Baron Stafford, referring to the town of Stafford, is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. In the 14th century, the barons of the first creation were made earls. Those of the fifth creation, in the 17th century ...

. Together, they were the parents of two sons and six daughters, including: * James Daly, 1st Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal (1782–1847), who represented County Galway in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

; he married Maria Elizabeth Smyth, daughter of Rt. Hon.

Sir Skeffington Smyth, 1st Baronet Sir Skeffington Edward Smyth, 1st Baronet (May 1745 – 9 September 1797) was an Anglo-Irish politician and baronet. Biography Smyth was born in Tinny Park, Wicklow, County Wicklow, the son of James Smyth, a Member of Parliament of Ireland for ...

and Margaret Daly (sister of

Denis Bowes Daly Denis Bowes Daly PC (c. 1745 – 17 December 1821) was an Irish politician. Biography Daly was the eldest son of Hyacynth Daly of Dalystown, and his cousin Rose Daly of Raford, both of County Galway and educated privately in Dublin and at Trini ...

), in 1808. * Rt. Rev. Robert Daly (1783–1872), who was a leading Irish evangelical who became

Bishop of Cashel and Waterford The Bishop of Cashel and Waterford (''Full title'': Bishop of Cashel, County Tipperary, Cashel and Emly with Waterford and Lismore, County Waterford, Lismore) was the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Cashel and Wate ...

, and was noted for his hostility to Roman Catholics. * Charlotte Elizabeth Daly (–1866), who married Very Rev. Horatio Townsend Newman, Dean of Cork, in 1817. * Henrietta Daly, who died unmarried.L. G. Pine, ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms'' (London: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 110. * Katharine Daly, who married John Godley, the High Sheriff of Leitrim who was a son of John Godley, in 1813.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 volume 2, p. 2149. * Elizabeth Daly * Emily Daly (d. 1876), who married Sir Morgan Crofton, 3rd Baronet, son of Sir Hugh Crofton, 2nd Baronet, in 1812. * Mary Daly (d. 1885), who married Rev. Arthur Knox, son of Arthur Knox, in 1820. His widow died at a great age in 1852.

Descendants

Through his eldest son James, he was grandfather of seven, including Denis Daly, 2nd Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal and Skeffington Daly, 3rd Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal.Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. ''Burke's Irish Family Records.''

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: Burkes Peerage Ltd, 1976, p. 314. Through his daughter Katharine, he was a grandfather of John Robert Godley (who married Charlotte Griffith-Wynne and was the father of

Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken John Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken, (17 June 1847 – 27 June 1932), was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish aristocrat and British civil servant and the longest serving, and probably the most influential, Permanent Under-Secretary of Sta ...

) and William Godley (who married Laura Bird and was the father of Gen. Sir

Alexander Godley General (United Kingdom), General Sir Alexander John Godley, (4 February 1867 – 6 March 1957) was a senior British Army officer. He is best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and II Anzac Corps during the ...

References

External links

* ''The Lords of Dunsandle'', James Noel Dillon, in '' Kiltullagh/Killimordaly: As the Centuries passed: A history from 1500-1900'', pp. 43–67, ed. Kieran Jordan, 2000. * ''Clare bards, Galway gentry'', Patrick Melvin, ''The Irish Genealogist'', 2002 * ''The Daly Chronicle'', Dermot Daly,''The Irish Genealogist'', 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Denis 1748 births 1791 deaths Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Mayors of Galway Politicians from County Galway Irish duellists Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People from Loughrea 18th-century Irish landowners