Earl of Granard
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. It was created in 1684 for Arthur Forbes, 1st Viscount Granard
Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard
-Early life:He was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Forbes of Corse in Aberdeenshire; who went to Ireland in 1620 with the Master of Forbes's regiment, of which he was lieutenant-colonel, and was granted large estates in Leitrim and Longford by James I. His mother was Jane, daughter of Sir Robert...
. He was a Lieutenant-General in the army and served as Marshal of the Army in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
after The Restoration and was later Lord Justice of Ireland. He had already succeeded his father as second Baronet of Castle Forbes and been created Baron Clanehugh and Viscount Granard in 1675, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The Baronetcy, of Castle Forbes in county Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
, was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 29 September 1628 for his father, Arthur Forbes
Sir Arthur Forbes, 1st Baronet
Sir Arthur Forbes, 1st Baronet of Castle Forbes, County Longford, Ireland took part in the Scottish Plantation of Ireland, and died in a duel at Hamburg, Germany. His son was created Earl of Granard.-Family:...
.
The first Earl's grandson, the third Earl, was an Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. He was summoned to the Irish House of Lords
Irish House of Lords
The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediaeval times until 1800. It was abolished along with the Irish House of Commons by the Act of Union.-Function:...
through a writ of acceleration
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...
as Lord Forbes in his father's lifetime. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. His grandson, the sixth Earl, was a General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the Army. In 1806 he was created Baron Granard, of Castle Donington in the County of Leicester, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. This title gave the Earls an automatic seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
. On his death the titles passed to his grandson, the seventh Earl. He notably served as Lord Lieutenant of County Leitrim from 1856 to 1872. His son, the eighth Earl, was a soldier and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician. Lord Granard held junior office in the Liberal administrations
Liberal Government 1905-1915
With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority...
of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
and was also a member of the Senate of Southern Ireland and of the Senate of the Irish Free State
Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...
. the titles are held by his grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his uncle in 1992.
The invented title of Viscount Forbes is used as a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
for the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent.
The ancestral family seat of the Earls of Granard is Castle Forbes, near Newtown Forbes, Co Longford, in the Republic of Ireland. It remains in the ownership of the family (as of 2008).
Forbes Baronets, of Castle Forbes (1628)
- Sir Arthur Forbes, 1st BaronetSir Arthur Forbes, 1st BaronetSir Arthur Forbes, 1st Baronet of Castle Forbes, County Longford, Ireland took part in the Scottish Plantation of Ireland, and died in a duel at Hamburg, Germany. His son was created Earl of Granard.-Family:...
(d. 1632) - Sir Arthur Forbes, 2nd BaronetArthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard-Early life:He was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Forbes of Corse in Aberdeenshire; who went to Ireland in 1620 with the Master of Forbes's regiment, of which he was lieutenant-colonel, and was granted large estates in Leitrim and Longford by James I. His mother was Jane, daughter of Sir Robert...
(1623–1695) (created Earl of Granard in 1684)
Earls of Granard (1684)
- Arthur Forbes, 1st Earl of GranardArthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard-Early life:He was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Forbes of Corse in Aberdeenshire; who went to Ireland in 1620 with the Master of Forbes's regiment, of which he was lieutenant-colonel, and was granted large estates in Leitrim and Longford by James I. His mother was Jane, daughter of Sir Robert...
(1623–1695) - Arthur Forbes, 2nd Earl of Granard (c. 1656–1734)
- George Forbes, 3rd Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 3rd Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard PC was an Anglo-Irish naval commander and diplomat.-Life:He was the son of Arthur Forbes, 2nd Earl of Granard, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir George Rawdon, 1st Baronet, of Moira, county Down, was born in Ireland 21 October 1685, and was for a time at the...
(1685–1765) - George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard (1710–1769)
- George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard (1740–1780)
- George Forbes, 6th Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 6th Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard , was an Irish general.Forbes was the eldest son of George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard, by his first wife, Dorothy, second daughter of Sir Nicholas Borley, baronet, of the Isle of Anglesea, and great-grandson of Admiral George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard. He was...
(1760–1837) - George John Forbes, Viscount Forbes (1785-1836)
- George Arthur Hastings Forbes, 7th Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 7th Earl of GranardGeorge Arthur Hastings Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard KP was an Irish peer and soldier, styled Viscount Forbes from 1836 to 1837....
(1833–1889) - Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of GranardBernard Forbes, 8th Earl of GranardBernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard KP, GCVO, PC , known as Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Liberal politician.-Background:...
(1874–1948) - Arthur Patrick Hastings Forbes, 9th Earl of GranardArthur Forbes, 9th Earl of GranardArthur Forbes, 9th Earl of Granard, AFC, He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He received a BA from Cambridge University in 1937....
(1915–1992) - Peter Arthur Edward Hastings Forbes, 10th Earl of Granard (b. 1957)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Jonathan Peter Hastings Forbes, Viscount Forbes (b. 1981)