Robert Laffan was the son of Walter Laffan, Esquire, of Cashel

Cashel, County Tipperary

Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....

 in County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

, 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...

, and a grandson of Richard de Courcy, Esquire, also of Cashel.

He served as parish priest for MacArky in County Tipperary, before being selected to head the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in mid-western Ireland. The diocese is in the secular province of Munster. The Diocese of Cashel was established in 1111 by the Synod of Rathbreasail and promoted to the status of a Metropolitan Province in 1152 by the...

 in 1823.

Archbishop Laffan's successful career is largely attributed to the court influence of his brother Sir Joseph de Courcy Laffan

Sir Joseph de Courcy Laffan

Sir Joseph De Courcy Laffan, 1st Baronet was a noted Irish physician.Laffan treated troops in the Peninsular War, he was the personal physician to Queen Victoria's father the Duke of Kent and also the Duke of York .Laffan, the son of Walter Laffan, was born on 15 March 1786 in Cashel in County...

, a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 who served as personal physician to both the Duke of Kent

Duke of Kent

Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...

 (father of Queen Victoria) and the Duke of York

Duke of York

The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...

 (an elder son of King George III). He certainly enjoyed the endorsement of the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

.

He died in 1833 and was succeeded as archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 by Michael Slattery.