William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde

William Burke
Earl of Clanricarde
Tenure	1666–1687
Predecessor	Richard, 6th Earl of Clanricarde
Successor	Richard, 8th Earl of Clanricarde
Died	1687
Spouse(s)	Lettice Shirley Helen MacCarty
Detail Issue Richard, & others
Father	William Burke
Mother	Joan O'Shaugnessy

William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde (died 1687), was an Irish earl who fought in his youth with his brother Richard, 6th Earl of Clanricarde under their cousin, Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and they each succeeded to his title.

Birth and origins[]

William was a younger son of Sir William Burke and his wife Joan. His father was the third son of Ulick Burke, the 3rd Earl of Clanricarde.^[1] William's mother was a daughter of Dermot O'Shaugnessy of Gort.^[2]

William Burke had two sons:^[3]

He appears below as the younger of two brothers:

1. Richard (died 1666), became the 6th Earl of Clanricarde
2. William (died 1687)

It is likely that he also had sisters but nothing seems to be known about them.

First marriage[]

His first wife was , daughter of Sir Henry Shirley, 2nd Baronet, by Lady Dorothy Devereux and granddaughter of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. She was born about 1617 and died on 25 September 1655.^[4] By her he had three sons including his heir, Richard.

William and Lettice had three sons:

1. Richard (died after 1708), became the 8th Earl of Clanricarde;^[5]
2. John (1642–1722), became the 9th Earl of Clanricarde.^[6]
3. Thomas (died 1688), killed at the Siege of Buda, Hungary;^[7][b][c][8]

Earl of Clanricarde[]

During William's childhood his uncle Richard had been Earl of Clanricarde, the 4th of his name. That uncle died on 12 November 1635^[9] and was succeeded by his cousin Ulick as the 5th Earl and 1st Marquess. Ulick was a royalist during the Irish Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland. He died in July 1657 and was succeeded by William's brother as the 6th Earl of Clanricarde.^[10] In July 1657 his brother Richard succeeded his cousin Ulick as the 6th Earl of Clanricarde. In 1666 his elder brother died^[11] and William eventually succeeded as the 7th Earl of Clanricarde. He became Lord Lieutenant of County Galway in 1680 and its Chief Governor in 1687.^{[citation needed]}

Second marriage[]

His second marriage was to Helen MacCarty, daughter of Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty.^[12][13]

William and Helen had four children:^[b]

1. Ulick (1670–1691), was created Viscount of Galway and fell at the Battle of Aughrim fighting for the Jacobites;^[14][b]
2. Margaret (1673–1744), first married , and then Thomas Butler of Garryricken;^[15][b]
3. William, died childless in France;^[16][b]
4. Honora (c. 1675 – 1698), married 1st Patrick Sarsfield and 2nd the Duke of Berwick.^[17]

Death, succession, and timeline[]

Lord Clanricarde died in October 1687^[18] and was succeeded by his eldest son Richard as the 8th Earl of Clanricarde. His daughter Honora inherited a fortune of £3,500 from her father.^[19]

showTimeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1615, estimate	Born.[d]
10	1625, 27 Mar	Accession of King Charles I, succeeding King James I[20]
20	1635, 12 Nov	Cousin Ulick succeeds as the 5th Earl of Clanricarde.[9]
34	1649, 30 Jan	King Charles I beheaded.[21]
40	1655, Sep	His 1st wife dies.[4]
42	1657, Jul	Brother Richard succeeded his cousin Ulick as the 6th Earl of Clanricarde.[10]
45	1660, 29 May	Restoration of King Charles II[22]
51	1666, Aug	Succeeded his brother as the 7th Earl of Clanricarde.[11]
55	1669, estimate	Married 2ndly Helen MacCarty.[12]
55	1670	Son Ulick born.[13][14]
58	1673	Daughter Margaret born.[15]
59	1674	Daughter Honora born, his last child.[17]
70	1685, 6 Feb	Accession of King James II, succeeding King Charles II[23]
72	1687	Died[18]

Notes, citations, and sources[]

Notes[]

Citation[]

Sources[]

• Burke, Jim (2005). A History Of Burke in Ireland. – Jim Burke!
• Burke, John (1832). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 1 (4th ed.). London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. – Abdy to Hutchinson (for Clanricarde)
• Burke, Bernard (1869). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.). London: Harrison.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1913). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. 3 (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty and Clanricarde)
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. (for timeline)
• Hardy, William John (1913). Calendar of the State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of William III. 1 January—31 December 1696. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. (for Honora's inheritance)
• Lodge, John (1789). Archdall, Mervyn (ed.). The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. 1. Dublin: James Moore. OCLC 264906028. – Blood royal, dukes, earls (for Clanricarde)

Further reading[]

• Portumna Castle and its Lords, Michael Mac Mahon, 1983.
• Burke, Bourke & De Burgh: People and Places, Eamon Bourke, Dublin, 1995. (Google Books, no preview)
• From Warlords to Landlords: Political and Social Change in Galway 1540-1640, , in "Galway: History and Society", 1996.

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Richard Burke	Earl of Clanricarde 1666–1687	Succeeded by Richard Burke