James Agar, 1st Viscount Clifden (25 March 1734 – 1 January 1789), was an

Irish peer 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 ...

and politician and held the office of one of the joint

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23 & 24 Geo 3 c. 17 (I) in 1784. The po ...

Family

He was the second son of

Henry Agar Henry Agar (1707–1746) was an Irish politician, and the father of the 1st Viscount Clifden and the 1st Earl of Normanton. Agar was the eldest son of James Agar of Gowran Castle and his second wife Mary Wemyss, daughter of Sir Henry Wemyss ...

, a former MP for

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is in the centre of Gowran, close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course are one kilometre from the centre of ...

, and Anne Ellis, daughter of Welbore Ellis,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

, and was probably born at Gowran Castle on 25 March 1734. On 20 March 1760, James married Lucia Martin, daughter of John Martin and widow of Henry Boyle-Walsingham. Together they had three children; Henry-Welbore, John Ellis, b. 31 December 1763, and Charles-Bagnell, b. 13 August 1765. Agar was made a Baron Clifden on 27 July 1776 and

Viscount Clifden Viscount Clifden, of Gowran in the County of Kilkenny, Ireland, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 January 1781 for James Agar, 1st Viscount Clifden, James Agar, 1st Baron Clifden. He had already been created Baron Cli ...

on 12 January 1781. He died on 1 January 1789 when his eldest son became the second viscount and Baron Mendip. His widow died in 1802. Agar's younger brothers were Charles Agar, first

Earl of Normanton Earl of Normanton is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Charles Agar, 1st Viscount Somerton, Archbishop of Dublin. He had already been created Baron Somerton, of Somerton in the County of Kilkenny, in 1795 and Visco ...

(1736–1809), who became the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and

Welbore Ellis Agar Welbore Ellis Agar FRS (1735 – 30 October 1805) was an Anglo-Irish gentleman, senior officer of HM Revenue and Customs, and art collector, who lived most of his life in Mayfair, Westminster. Life Agar was the middle son of Henry Agar of Gowr ...

, a notable art collector.Rebecca Lyons, "Selling the collection of Welbore Ellis Agar" in

Susanna Avery-Quash Susanna or Suzanna may refer to: People * Susanna (Book of Daniel), a portion of the Book of Daniel and its protagonist * Susanna (disciple), a disciple of Jesus * Susanna (given name), or Suzanna, a feminine given name (including a list of peo ...

, Christian Huemer, eds., ''London and the Emergence of a European Art Market, 1780-1820'' (Getty Publications, 6 August 2019)
p 176
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Politics

In addition to being a Member of Parliament (MP) for

, for which he sat three times, from 1753 to 1761, again from 1768 to 1769 and finally from 1776 to 1777, he controlled three other borough seats through the strength of his family holdings. Between 1761 and 1776, he represented

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

and between 1768 and 1769 Thomastown. He held the post of joint Postmaster General of Ireland between 1784 and 1789 with

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), (15 September 17445 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and, after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Ponsonby was ...

References

External links

Irish Legislation Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agar, James 1734 births 1788 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Clifden, James Agar, 1st Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Ireland

Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

Postmasters general of Ireland