Biography

Blake was the eldest of three sons of Sir Thomas Blake and Juliane, daughter of Geoffrey Browne. He was admitted to the Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 on 19 July 1628, was knighted on 3 October 1629, and sat in the Irish parliament of 1634–35 as MP either for Tuam or Galway county. He was a member of Galway's town council by 1638 and is listed as an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 in 1641. He succeeded his father the following year.

Elected MP for Galway borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 in 1640, Blake was expelled from the commons in June 1642 for association with the rebellion. This was a result of his activities in Galway early in the year, which included aiding the amassing of a military force to oppose the British garrison at Forthill, overlooking the town. He served as Mayor from 1643–44 and was a highly active member of the Irish Confederation

Irish Confederation

The Irish Confederation was an Irish nationalist independence movement, established on 13 January 1847 by members of the Young Ireland movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association. Historian T. W...

. He supported the Ormond

Ormond

-Places:* Ormond , an ancient kingdom in the Province of Munster* Ormond Beach, Florida, a city in Florida* Ormond-By-The-Sea, Florida, a city in Florida** Ormond Beach Middle School, a middle school located in the city of Ormond Beach...

 peace treaties of 1646 and 1649. He and Sir Richard Blake

Sir Richard Blake

Sir Richard Blake was an Irish politician and Mayor of Galway, fl. 1647.Blake was the son of Richard Blake of Ardfry, near Oranmore, County Galway....

 of Ardfry were captured by the soldiers of Owen Roe O'Neill

Owen Roe O'Neill

Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...

 in June 1648 but were released unharmed.

He was one of the Galwegians who supported negotiations to secure aid from Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine

Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine

Charles IV was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1675.- Biography :...

, in 1651. This was to no avail and he was one the six townsmen who signed the articles of surrender of the town on 5 April 1652. His will was proved in April 1654, and he was buried in the Loretto chapel of St. Francis's abbey, Galway.

With his wife, Eleanor, third daughter of Sir Henry Lynch, he had four sons and three daughters. Much of the family property was confiscated by the Cromwellian government but substantially restored to the following generation. The family remained of note as local landowners and politicians into the 20th century. The current holder of the title is Sir Anthony Teilo Bruce Blake, 18th Baronet, born in 1951.

See also

• Blake Baronets
  Blake Baronets
  There have been four Baronetcies for persons with the surname Blake, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, two in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...