Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet PC (Ire) ( – 1691) was the last of the Talbot baronets of Carton: his title was forfeited on account of his loyalty to King

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. He was an Irish politician and judge, who served briefly as

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respon ...

Birth and origins

William was born about 1643, the only son of Garret Talbot and his wife Margaret Gaydon. His father was the third of eight brothers, of whom the most eminent were

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, ( – 14 August 1691) was an Irish politician, courtier and soldier. Talbot's early career was spent as a cavalryman in the Irish Confederate Wars. Following a period on the Continent, he joined the court ...

, and Peter Talbot,

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. All three brothers served the

Stuart dynasty The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been hel ...

with notable loyalty during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

, and William shared his family's loyalty to the Stuarts.

Early life

Talbot was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, succeeded to his father's title in 1670, and for a time acted as Secretary to the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

, presumably at the request of his maternal uncle,

Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675) was an English politician and lawyer who was the first proprietor of Maryland. Born in Kent, England in 1605, he inherited the proprietorship of overseas colonies in Avalo ...

, who was Proprietor of Maryland. The Talbot family was devoutly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

; William's uncle Archbishop Talbot died in prison in 1680, a victim of the fabricated

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

. Perhaps inspired by his uncle's example, Sir William in 1682 made a public plea for

religious toleration Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

of Catholics. He became a Commissioner of the Revenue in 1682, a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1687 and Master of the Rolls in 1689.

Marriage

He married in 1683 Lady Anne Nugent, widow of Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount Dillon, and daughter of

Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath (1621/23 – 25 February 1684) was an Irish nobleman. Life He was the grandson of Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath and Jenet Plunkett. Nugent's father, Christopher, Lord Delvin, had predeceased the firs ...

and Mary Nugent; she died in 1710. They had no children.

Later life and death

His open Catholic beliefs, combined with the influence of his uncle Lord Tyrconnell who, as

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, became for a short time almost all-powerful in Ireland, gained him preferment, especially during the reign of the ardently Catholic King James II. Like all the judges promoted by James II, his knowledge of the law and the size of his practice were the subject of harsh criticism by his enemies. He sat in the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

of 1689 as member for

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. After the downfall of James II, Talbot was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

and his lands and title were subsequently forfeited under the Williamite Settlement. He died either in Ireland, at

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, in May 1691,''Burke's Peerage'' p.3854 or on the continent, in France or in Spain, on 26 December 1724.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* – 1221 to 1690 * * * – 1611 to 1625 * * – Viscounts * – Irish stem {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Sir William, 3rd Baronet 1640s births 1691 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Irish MPs 1689 Masters of the Rolls in Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies Year of birth uncertain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...