Richard Hennessy (; 1720 — 8 October 1800) was an Irish military officer and businessman, best known for founding the
Hennessy brand of
cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cogn ...
in
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
. He was from
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, and became exiled in France due to his
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
.
Biography
Richard Hennessy was born in 1720 to James Hennessy and Catherine Barrett at Ballymacmoy House,
Killavullen, a small village on the
Blackwater river, in
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, then part of the
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...
.
His family were
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
s, and Hennessy grew up supporting
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
, which led him to seek exile in 1740 at the age of nineteen.
[
He went to Bourbon France, where he joined Dillon's Regiment in the Irish Brigade of the ]French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
, serving as an officer in the service of King Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
.[ Hennessy fought at Fontenoy in 1745. In 1763, he married Ellen Barrett and, in 1765, founded the Hennessy ]cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cogn ...
distillery in Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
.[ https://elitetraveler.com/finest-dining/hennessy-launches-richard-hennessy-magnum]
References
Further reading
* ''Le Choix de Cognac : l'établissement des négociants irlandais en eau-de-vie au XVIIIe siècle'', by Louis Cullen
* ''La naissance d'une dynastie du cognac Richard Hennessy 1727–1800'', by Monique le Tac
* ''Les Réfugiés jacobites dans la France du XVIIIe siècle'', by Patric Clarke de Dromantin
* ''Archives de la Maison Hennessy''
External links
"Hennessy, Richard"
at ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Richard
1720 births
1800 deaths
18th-century Irish businesspeople
Businesspeople from County Cork
Irish Jacobites
Irish soldiers
Irish emigrants to France
Irish soldiers in the French Army
Military personnel from County Cork
Cognac
Wild Geese (soldiers)
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...