Edward Michael Conolly (23 August 1786 – 4 January 1849) was an Irish Member of Parliament. He was born Edward Michael Pakenham, son of Admiral Sir Thomas Pakenham by his wife Louisa, daughter of

John Staples The Rt Hon. John Staples, M.P. (1 March 1736 – 22 December 1820), was an Irish Member of Parliament from 1765 to 1802. He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Newtown Limavady from 1765 to 1768, for Clogher from 1768 to 1776, for Bal ...

and niece of Thomas Conolly of Castletown. His father was the fourth son of 1st Baron Longford and his wife Elizabeth, Baroness Longford. Catherine Pakenham (later Duchess of Wellington) was his first cousin. He adopted the surname Conolly by Royal Licence on 27 August 1821, following the death of his great-aunt

Lady Louisa Conolly Lady Louisa Conolly (5 December 1743 – August 1821) was an English noblewoman. She was the third of the famous Lennox Sisters, and was notable among them for leading a wholly uncontroversial life filled with good works. Biography Born La ...

He lived at

Castletown House Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of an estate. The estate was sold in 1965, and late ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, which he inherited from his great-aunt Louisa, and 'Cliff House' in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. He represented Donegal in Parliament from the general election in 1831 until his death, and was a lieutenant-colonel in the Donegal Militia. The Conolly residence 'Cliff House' on the banks of the River

Erne An erne is a sea eagle, or an eagle more broadly. Erne may refer to: People * Adam Erne (born 1995), American ice hockey player * Philippe Erne (born 1986), Liechtenstein footballer * Young Erne (1884–1944), American boxer Ships * HMS '' ...

between Belleek,

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

and

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

, County Donegal was demolished as part of the Erne Hydroelectric scheme, which constructed the Cliff and

Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station is a hydroelectric plant located on the River Erne at Ballyshannon in County Donegal, Ireland. Also known as Ballyshannon, it is owned and operated by the ESB Group. The plant consists of two Kaplan t ...

s. Cliff hydroelectric power station was constructed on the site of 'Cliff House' and was commissioned in 1950. He married on 20 May 1819 Catherine Jane, daughter of

Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker (12 June 1762 – 13 December 1834) was an Irish Member of Parliament. He was born Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby, son of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby by his third wife Mary, daughter of Sir William Barker, 3rd ...

. They had six sons and four daughters, including an eldest son Chambré Brabazon, who died in 1835;

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, who succeeded his father as MP for Donegal; Arthur Wellesley, who died at the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and w ...

while serving as a captain in the 30th Regiment of Foot;

John Augustus John Augustus (c. 1785 – June 21, 1859) was an American boot maker and penal reformer. He is credited with coining the English term "probation" and is called the "Father of Probation" in the United States because of his pioneering efforts to c ...

, who also served in the Crimean War and was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for his actions at Sebastopol as a lieutenant in the

49th Regiment of Foot The 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1743. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Princ ...

; Richard, who served as Secretary of Legation at the British embassy in China; Louisa Augusta, who married Clotworthy Rowley, 3rd Baron Langford and died of drowning in 1853; and Mary Margaret, who married Henry Bruen.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20171011182617/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Dcommons2.htm * http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_conolly.html *

External links

* 1786 births 1849 deaths People from Celbridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Donegal constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Politicians from County Kildare Politicians from County Donegal {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub