George Tierney PC (20 March 1761 – 25 January 1830) was an Irish Whig politician. For much of his career he was in opposition to the governments of William Pitt and

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...

. From 1818 to 1821 he was

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Background and education

Born in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, Tierney was the son of Thomas Tierney, a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living in

as prize agent. He was sent to Eton and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, where he took the degree of Law in 1784. He was called to the bar from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in the same year, but abandoned law and plunged into politics. On 10 July 1789 he married Anna Maria Miller of Stapleton in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

; she died in 1844.

Political career

Early career

Tierney contested

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

in 1788, when both candidates received the same number of votes, but Tierney was declared elected. He was, however, defeated in the 1790 general election. He returned to Parliament in 1796 for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and sat for that seat until 1806, and then represented in turn

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

(1806–1807), Bandon (1807–1812), Appleby (1812–1818), and

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

(1818–1830). During his early years in Parliament he was known for his radical views and was a supporter of

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...

. The French Revolution of 1789 was a polarising force in British Whig politics with some supporting the revolution, and others such as

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 ...

strongly opposed to it. Because of his radical views, Tierney was often portrayed in

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

s in the costume of a French revolutionary.

Duel

When

seceded from the

, Tierney emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of William Pitt's foreign policy. In May 1798, Pitt accused him of want of patriotism. A

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

ensued at

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

on Sunday, 27 May 1798; but neither combatant was injured.

Office

In 1803, Tierney, partly because peace had been ratified with France at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, and partly because Pitt was out of office, joined the ministry of Henry Addington as Treasurer of the Navy, and was created a Privy Councillor; but this alienated many of his supporters among the middle classes, and offended most of the influential Whigs. On the death of Fox in 1806 he joined William Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents as

President of the Board of Control President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, with a seat in the cabinet, and thus brought himself once more into line with the Whigs. He left office the following year when Grenville's government fell and was replaced by the Tories, who were to dominate office for the next generation. Tierney was in opposition for the following twenty years.

Opposition

About a year after the death of

George Ponsonby George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and education Ponsonby was the second surviving son of ...

in 1817, Tierney reluctantly became the recognised leader of the opposition in the House of Commons. At first he was successful, with Whig gains being made at the 1818 general election. On 18 May 1819, Tierney moved a motion in the House of Commons for a committee on the state of the nation. This motion was defeated by 357 to 178, which was a division involving the largest number of MPs until the debates over the Reform bill in the early 1830s. Foord comments that "this defeat put an effective end to Tierney's leadership... Tierney did not disclaim the leadership until 23 Jan. 1821 ..., but he had ceased to exercise its functions since the great defeat".

Final years

In George Canning's ministry, he was

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between the 16th ...

, and when Lord Goderich succeeded to the lead Tierney was admitted to the cabinet; but he was already suffering from ill-health and died suddenly at Savile Row, London.

References

Attribution: * *

Sources

* ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801–1922'', edited by B. M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978). * ''His Majesty's Opposition 1714–1830'', by Archibald S. Foord (Oxford University Press 1964)

External links

* * H {{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, George 1761 births 1830 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge British duellists Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Athlone Masters of the Mint People educated at Eton College Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies Gibraltarian politicians UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1796–1800 British people of Irish descent Presidents of the Board of Control Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies