Earl of Roscommon was 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 on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The fourth Earl was a courtier, poet and critic. The fifth Earl was a professional soldier, politician and courtier: he was friendly with

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, who refers to him several times as "Colonel Dillon" in his famous

Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

. After the death of the tenth Earl, there were two prolonged investigations by the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

during the 1790s to ascertain the legitimacy of his son Patrick, against the rival claim by Robert Dillon, a descendant of the seventh son of the first Earl and the next male heir in line. These eventually found in Patrick's favour. The titles became dormant on the death of the eleventh Earl in 1816. However, in 1828 the United Kingdom

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 ...

decided that the rightful heir to the peerages was

Michael Dillon Laurence Michael Dillon (1 May 1915 – 15 May 1962) was a British doctor, author, Buddhist monk and the first known Trans man, transgender man to undergo a phalloplasty. Born in Ladbroke Estate, Ladbroke Gardens, Kensington, he and his elder ...

, another descendant of the seventh son of the first Earl, who became the twelfth Earl. The House of Lords decided against Francis Stephen Dillon (d 1840), an inmate of a debtors' prison who dubiously claimed descent from the third son of the first Earl. The titles became extinct on the death of the twelfth Earl on 15 May 1850. The Dillon family is a widespread

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

family that descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185. The Dillon family held substantial lands in Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon. This family has three noble branches: The Viscounts Dillon, the Earls of Roscommon and the Barons Clonbrock. The line of the Viscounts Dillon is the most senior of the three noble lines. The line of the Earls of Roscommon departed from this senior line with James Dillon of Proudston, the third son of Gerald Dillon of Drumrany, whereas the senior line continued with Maurice, Gerald's eldest son Sir James Dillon (died 1507), great-grandfather of the first Earl, was a distinguished judge, as were several of his descendants. The senior line became noble on 16 March 1622, about six months before the "Roscommon" line. The branch of the Barons Clonbrock departed from the line of the Earls of Roscommon at a later point.

Earls of Roscommon (1622)

James Dillon, 1st Earl of Roscommon James Dillon, 1st Earl of Roscommon (died March 1641) fought for the crown in the Nine Years' War. He was ennobled despite being a Catholic after his son Robert turned Protestant. Birth and origins James was born in Ir ...

(died 1641) *

Robert Dillon, 2nd Earl of Roscommon The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

(died 1642) *

James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon Sir James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon ( – 1649) was an Irish magnate and politician. He was born a Catholic but converted at a young age to the Church of Ireland. He supported Strafford during his term as governor of Ireland. In the Conf ...

( – 1649) *

Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon (1637–1685), was an Anglo-Irish soldier and poet. Birth and origins Wentworth was born in October 1637 in Dublin, probably in St George's Lane. He was the only son of James Di ...

( – 1685) * Carey Dillon, 5th Earl of Roscommon (1627–1689) *Robert Dillon, 6th Earl of Roscommon (died 1715) *Robert Dillon, 7th Earl of Roscommon (died 1721) *James Dillon, 8th Earl of Roscommon (1702–1746) *Robert Dillon, 9th Earl of Roscommon (died 1770) *John Dillon, 10th Earl of Roscommon (died 1782) *Patrick Dillon, 11th Earl of Roscommon (1769–1816) * Michael James Robert Dillon, 12th Earl of Roscommon (1798–1850) *Famille Gillion de Roscomont

References

Sources

* – Viscounts *

External links

*http://conseil-francais-d-heraldique.com/fiche_resultats.php?ID=858 *http://assumearms.com/achievements/?1000267-Thomas-Gillion%20de%20Roscomont {{DEFAULTSORT:Roscommon Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1622