Earl of Meath 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 ...
. It was created in 1627 and is held by the head of the Brabazon family.
History
The Brabazon family descends from
Sir Edward Brabazon, who represented
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
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, ...
and served as
High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1606. He was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Ardee in 1616. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He was created Earl of Meath in the Peerage of Ireland in 1627, with remainder to his younger brother, the Hon. Sir Anthony Brabazon. Lord Meath was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. His grandson, the fourth Earl, served as
Lord-Lieutenant of Dublin and of
Kildare. His wife Dorothy Stopford, daughter of James Stopford and Mary Forth, was a close friend of
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
. He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of Dublin. He married the Hon. Juliana Chaworth, daughter of Patrick Chaworth, 3rd and last
Viscount Chaworth.
Upon the death of the fifth Earl, the titles passed to his eldest son, the sixth Earl. He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Dublin and County Kildare. He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, the seventh Earl. His grandson, the ninth Earl, was killed in a duel in 1797. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the tenth Earl. He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Dublin from 1831 to 1851. The Chaworth title held by his ancestors was revived in 1831 when he was created Baron Chaworth, of Eaton Hall in the County of Hereford, in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in 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 ...
. His son, the eleventh Earl, sat as
MP for
County Dublin
County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
from 1830 to 1832, and from 1837 to 1841, and was also
Lord-Lieutenant of County Wicklow from 1869 to 1887. He was succeeded by his son, the twelfth Earl. He was a politician and philanthropist. His son, the thirteenth Earl, was a
Brigadier-General in the
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...
and the
Irish Guards. , the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the fifteenth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1998.
The Hon. William Brabazon, of Tara House in County Meath, younger son of the seventh Earl, was the father of Barbara, who married John Moore. Their grandson John Arthur Henry Moore assumed the additional surname of Brabazon and was the father of the aviation pioneer and Conservative politician
John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara. (See
Baron Brabazon of Tara for more information on this branch of the family.)
The family seat is
Kilruddery House, near
Bray in
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
.
Barons Ardee (1616)
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Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee (died 1625)
*
William Brabazon, 2nd Baron Ardee (1580–1651) (created Earl of Meath in 1627)
Earls of Meath (1627)
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William Brabazon, 1st Earl of Meath (1580–1651)
*
Edward Brabazon, 2nd Earl of Meath (1610–1675)
*
William Brabazon, 3rd Earl of Meath (1635–1685)
*
Edward Brabazon, 4th Earl of Meath (1638–1707)
*
Chambré Brabazon, 5th Earl of Meath (1645–1715)
*
Chaworth Brabazon, 6th Earl of Meath (1686–1763)
*
Edward Brabazon, 7th Earl of Meath (1691–1772)
*
Anthony Brabazon, 8th Earl of Meath (1721–1790)
*
William Brabazon, 9th Earl of Meath (1769–1797)
*
John Chambre Brabazon, 10th Earl of Meath (1772–1851)
*
William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath (1803–1887)
*
Reginald Brabazon, 12th Earl of Meath (1841–1929)
*
Reginald Le Normand Brabazon, 13th Earl of Meath (1869–1949)
*
Anthony Windham Normand Brabazon, 14th Earl of Meath (1910–1998)
*
John Anthony Brabazon, 15th Earl of Meath (born 1941)
The
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 the present holder's only son, Anthony Jacques Brabazon, Lord Ardee (born 1977).
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, the Hon. Aldus Jack Brabazon (born 2010).
See also
*
Brabazon baronets
*
Killruddery House
*
Lordship of Meath
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meath
Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland
Bray, County Wicklow
Brabazon family
Noble titles created in 1627