Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany
Encyclopedia
Randal Arthur Henry Plunkett, 19th Baron of Dunsany (25 August 1906 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish peer. He was the son of the famous author and playwright Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany and Lady Beatrice Child Villiers.

Family seat

The family seat of the Lords Dunsany is at Dunsany Castle, Dunsany, Co. Meath, 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...

. The original Killeen Castle was built by Geoffrey de Cusack
Cusack
Cusack is an Irish family name of Norman origin, originally from Cussac in Guienne , France. The surname died out in England, but is common in Ireland, where it was imported at the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century....

 who was a tenant of Sir Hugh de Lacy, an early Cambro-Norman
Cambro-Norman
Cambro-Norman is a term used for Norman knights who settled in southern Wales after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Some historians suggest that the term is to be preferred to Anglo-Norman for the Normans who invaded Ireland after 1170 — many of whom originated in Wales. However, the term...

 who arrived in Ireland with Strongbow
Strongbow
The term Strongbow may refer to:*Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, a Norman earl also known by the nickname "Strongbow"*Strongbow Cider*Beleg Cúthalion , a character in JRR Tolkien's Quenta Silmarillion...

, sometime between his arrival in Ireland in 1172 and the year 1181. Sir Hugh was given most of County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

. The castle was built on an area of land believed to have been the site of an earlier Dún or fort, which gives its name to the locality and the subsequent castle of Dunsany. The Killeen Castle came to the Plunkett family through the marriage in the early 15th century of Sir Christopher Plunkett (Deputy Governor of Ireland in 1432) to Lady Joan de Cusack. The lands at Dunsany and nearby Killeen
Killeen
-Places:* Killeen, County Armagh - a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland* Killeen, County Cork - a village in County Cork, Ireland* Killeen, County Down - a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland...

 had previously belonged to the Cusack family, descendents of Geoffrey de Cusack and Matilda (née le Petit sister of William le Petit of Dunboyne
Dunboyne
Dunboyne is a town in County Meath in Ireland. For the most part, it is a dormitory town for the city of Dublin.-Location:Dunboyne is centred on the crossroads formed by the R156 regional road and the old Maynooth Road ....

 Castle). It is claimed that the castle is the longest occupied home and one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings in Ireland.

Early life

Randal Plunkett was born on the 25th August 1906 and was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Eton, Berkshire, England. He fought in the North-West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...

 in 1930 in the Indian Cavalry (The Guides) and was promoted to the rank of Lt. Col. He also fought in the Second World War and retired from Military Service in 1947 having been decorated (Medal and Clasp). In 1957 he succeeded to the family title on the death of his father the 18th Lord Dunsany.

Personal life

On 23 August 1938 Randal Plunkett married Vera de Sà Sottomaior, the youngest daughter of Dr. Genesio de Sà Sottomaior of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and formerly wife of Ivar Bryce. Just over one year later the couple had their only child Edward John Carlos Plunkett, who would later succeed his father as 20th Lord Dunsany in 1999. However, the couple were divorced in 1947 and on 8 October 1947 Randal Plunkett married Sheila Victoria Katrin Philipps, daughter of Sir Henry Philipps
Philipps Baronets
There have been four Baronetcies created for members of the Welsh Philipps family, one in the Baronetage of England and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom ....

, 2nd Bt. of Picton Castle
Picton Castle
Picton Castle is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by Sir John Wogan and is still inhabited by his descendants, the Philipps family ....

 in Pembroke
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
Pembroke is an historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in west Wales. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref of Penfro: Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so it means essentially "Land's End".-History:The main point of...

. From this marriage the Hon. Beatrice Mary Plunkett was born on 15 July 1948.

Achievements

Randal Plunkett, the Rt. Hon. The Lord Dunsany was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was decorated for his service in the North-West Frontier in 1930. On 21 September 1962 the official inauguration of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jersusalem
Order of Saint Lazarus
This article concerns the order of knighthood named after Saint Lazarus. For other uses of the name Lazarus, see Lazarus .The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by the Knights Hospitaller in 1098 by the...

Bailiwick (later to be Grand Priory) of Ireland took place at Dunsany Castle and Lord Dunsany was invested as the first Chancellor of the Order in Ireland.

External links

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