Philip Sydney Smyth (14 March 1715 – 29 April 1787) was a

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clergyman and fourth

Viscount Strangford Viscount Strangford was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in for Sir Thomas Smythe. He was a son of John Smith (also Smythe) J.P., High Sheriff of Kent 1600–1601, also M.P. for Aylesbury (in 1584) and Hythe (in 1586, 1587 a ...

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 ...

. He succeeded to the viscountcy on 8 September 1724.

Career

Ecclesiastical

He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. King George II appointed him Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin in 1746 but the

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successfully argued that

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was not the patron, and he was dispossessed. He was successively

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Killaspugmullane in Cork Cathedral;

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(1746–52);

Dean of Derry The Dean of Derry is based at St Columb's Cathedral, Derry in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe in the Church of Ireland. The current Dean of Derry is Raymond Stewart. He was appointed to the cathedral in December 2016 and inaugurated on 28 March 20 ...

(1752–69); and

Archdeacon of Derry The Archdeacon of Derry is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The archdeaconry can trace its history from Giolla Domhnaill O'Foramain (or Gilladowny O'Forannan), the first known incumbent, known to have held t ...

(1769–74).

Political

He sat in 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 ...

until 1784, when he was excluded by Act of Parliament after being tried and convicted of corruption for soliciting a bribe of £200 from the applicant in a court case that was pending before the House. The scandal was exacerbated by the fact that it came less than two years after the Irish Lords had regained final

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from the

British 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, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest extant institutions in the world, its origi ...

Family

In 1741 Strangford married Mary, daughter of Anthony Jephson, MP for Mallow and his second wife Hannah Rogerson. They had six children: Mary-Anne (1745–1823) and Anne-Philippa (1749–1830), both unmarried; Robert, Philip, and Frances, who all died young; and finally Lionel (1753–1801), who also took holy orders before succeeding as 5th Viscount.

References

Sources

* * Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol IV 1898 * Alumni Dublinenses : a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593-1860) * Cracroft's Peerage: The Complete Guide to the British Peerage

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangford, Philip Smythe, 4th Viscount 1715 births 1787 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People convicted of bribery Corruption in Ireland Deans of Derry Archdeacons of Derry