Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet

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Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet (died 16 March 1634), was an Irish lawyer and politician.

Birth and origins[]

William was the son of Robert Talbot of Carton, County Kildare, who was the third son of Sir Thomas Talbot of Malahide, County Dublin; his mother was Jenet FitzGerald, daughter of Thomas Fitzgerald.

Early life[]

Talbot was educated for the law, and attained a leading position as a lawyer in Dublin. About 1603 he was appointed Recorder of Dublin, but, being a staunch Roman Catholic, which was a bar to public office, he was soon afterwards removed from office for recusancy.

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, Sir William's eighth son

Marriage and children[]

William Talbot married Alison, daughter of John Netterville of Castleton, County Meath.

William and Alison had 16 children, eight sons:

1. Robert (c. 1610 – c. 1670), his successor
2. Peter (2nd), became Catholic Archbishop of Dublin
3. Richard (8th), became Earl of Tyrconnell and Lord Lieutenant during the reign of James  II, overhauling the Royal Irish Army which then fought in the Williamite War

—and eight daughters:

1. Margaret (died 1662), married the landowner Sir Henry Talbot of Templeogue^[1]
2. Frances, married James Cusack, son of Edward Cusack and grandson of Sir Thomas Cusack, Lord Chancellor of Ireland
3. Eleanor, married Sir Henry O'Neill, 1st Baronet, of Killelagh, and was the mother of Sir Neil O'Neill and of Rose O'Neill, foster daughter and heir-at-law of [[Rose MacDonnell, Marchioness of Antrim]
4. Mary married Sir John Dongan, 2nd Baronet, and had at least ten children, including , William Dongan, 1st Earl of Limerick, and Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick

Later Life[]

Parliament of 1613–1614[]

On 13 April 1613 Talbot was returned to the Irish Parliament as MP for County Kildare, and became the unofficial legal adviser to the Roman Catholic party in the Irish House of Commons (they were a minority in the House, but a large one). Thomas Ryves, a close ally of the new Speaker, complained to the Westminster government that Talbot had abetted the return to Parliament of two schismatics. During the stormy scenes which marked the election of a speaker in the Irish House of Commons, culminating with one of the rival speakers (a fat man) sitting on the other, Talbot urged that the House should first purge itself of members elected by illegal means.

On 30 May he was appointed by the House one of the deputies to represent to James I the corrupt practices employed in the elections to secure a Protestant majority, and the arbitrary treatment of the Anglo-Irish Catholics. He crossed to England in July, and was examined by the Privy Council on his conduct in the Irish House of Commons. During the discussion of this question, Archbishop George Abbot demanded Talbot's opinion on a book (probably the Defensio fidei Catholicae adversus Anglicanae sectae errores) in which (he said) Francisco Suárez openly maintained the right of Catholics to kill an heretical king. Talbot hesitated, but acknowledged James as the lawful King. The Council was not satisfied with his answers, and on 17 July Talbot was committed to the Tower of London. On 13 November 1613 the Star Chamber sentenced him to a fine of £10,000. Early in the following year, however, Talbot was allowed to return to Ireland, and the fine was probably remitted. The King, on releasing him, disclaimed any intention of forcing the Irish Catholics to change their religion. From this time Talbot became a supporter of the government, but took little part in politics.

Baronet[]

On 4 February 1623 Talbot was created a baronet and thus became Sir William.^[2] Subsequently he received various grants of land.^[3]

The Graces[]

In 1628 Sir William, as he was now was, travelled to England to see the King as one of the 11 agents sent by the Irish to negotiate the Graces.^[4]

Death[]

Sir William Talbot died on 16 March 1634^[5] and is buried in Laraghbryan Cemetery outside Maynooth.^[6] He was succeeded by his eldest son Robert as the 2nd baronet.

Citations and sources[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

• Burke, Sir Bernard (1879). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. 2 (6th ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 972909415. – L to Z
• Cokayne, George Edward (1896). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. 7 (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180891114. – S to T
• Cokayne, George Edward (1900). Complete Baronetage, 1611 to 1800. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Exeter: William Pollard & Co. OCLC 866278985. – 1611 to 1625
• Pollard, Albert Frederick (1898). "Talbot, Sir William (d. 1633)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 55. London: Smith, Elder, & Co. pp. 338–339. OCLC 8544105.
• Pollard, Albert Frederick; Kelsey, Sean (2004). "Talbot, William, first baronet (d.1634)". In Matthew, Colin; Harrison, Brian (eds.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 53. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 717–722. ISBN 0-19-861403-9.