Viscount Powerscourt is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland

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,...

, each time for members of the Wingfield family. It was created first in 1618 for the Chief Governor of 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...

, Richard Wingfield. However, this creation became extinct on his death in 1634. It was created a second time in 1665 for Folliott Wingfield. He was the great-great-grandson of George Wingfield, uncle of the first Viscount of the 1618 creation. However, the 1665 creation also became extinct on the death of its first holder in 1717.

It was created for a third time in 1744 for Richard Wingfield, along with title of Baron Wingfield, of Wingfield in the County of Wexford. He was the grandson of Lewis Wingfield, uncle of the first Viscount of the 1665 creation. Richard Wingfield had earlier represented Boyle

Boyle (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Boyle was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1611 to 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Boyle was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...

 in the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

. His eldest son, the second Viscount, represented Stockbridge

Stockbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Stockbridge was a parliamentary borough in Hampshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1563 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act...

 in the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Viscount. The latter's grandson, the fifth Viscount, sat 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....

 as an Irish Representative Peer

Representative peer

In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...

 from 1821 to 1823. His son, the sixth Viscount, sat as a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Bath

Bath (UK Parliament constituency)

Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously of the House of Commons of England. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century...

. On his death the titles passed to his son, the seventh Viscount, who was an Irish Representative Peer from 1865 to 1885. The latter year he was created Baron Powerscourt, of Powerscourt in the County of Wicklow, 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 peerage gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords 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;...

. His son, the eighth Viscount, served as Lord Lieutenant of County Wicklow

Lord Lieutenant of Wicklow

This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Wicklow. The office was created on 23 August 1831.* William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow 7 October 1831 – 22 March 1869* William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath 1869 – 26 May 1887...

 and was a member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland. the titles are held by his grandson, the tenth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1973.

The ancestral seat of the Viscounts Powerscourt was the once vast Powerscourt Estate

Powerscourt Estate

Powerscourt Estate , located near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares . The house, originally a 13th century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect...

, near Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, in the Republic of Ireland. The 1000 acres (4 km²) estate was sold by the 9th Viscount in 1961 to the Slazenger family, which still owns it to this day (2008). Wendy Slazenger, daughter of the late Ralph Slazenger, married the 10th Viscount in 1962 as his first wife. Through her children, the Hon. Mervyn Wingfield and the Hon. Julia Wingfield, there remains a strong family connection between the two families and the Powerscourt Estate.

Viscounts Powerscourt, First Creation (1618)

• Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt (1550–1634)

Viscounts Powerscourt, Second Creation (1665)

• Folliott Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt (1642–1717)

Viscounts Powerscourt, Third Creation (1744)

• Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt (1697–1751)
• Edward Wingfield, 2nd Viscount Powerscourt (1729–1764)
• Richard Wingfield, 3rd Viscount Powerscourt (1730–1788)
• Richard Wingfield, 4th Viscount Powerscourt (1762–1809)
• Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt (1790–1823)
• Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt
  Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt
  Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt , was a British peer and Conservative Party politician.-Background:...
  
   (1815–1844)
• Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt
  Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt
  Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt KP PC was an Irish peer. He became Viscount Powerscourt in 1844 on the death of his father Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt....
  
   (1836–1904)
• Mervyn Richard Wingfield, 8th Viscount Powerscourt
  Mervyn Wingfield, 8th Viscount Powerscourt
  Mervyn Richard Wingfield, 8th Viscount Powerscourt KP, MVO was an Irish peer.He was born to Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, whom he succeeded as Viscount Powerscourt in 1904. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wicklow on 15 February 1910 and created a Knight of the Order of St Patrick...
  
   (1880–1947)
• Mervyn Patrick Wingfield, 9th Viscount Powerscourt (1905–1973)
• Mervyn Niall Wingfield, 10th Viscount Powerscourt (born 1935)

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 the Hon. Mervyn Anthony Wingfield (born 1963)