Charles O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond
Charles O'Brien, (17 March 1699 – 9 September 1761), titular 6th Viscount Clare and later titular 8th Earl of Thomond, was an Irish military officer in French service (he was made a Marshal of France), known to posterity as the Maréchal de Thomond.
The Earl of Thomond | |
|---|---|
 As Marshal of France | |
| Born | Charles O'Brien 17 March 1699 |
| Died | 9 September 1761 (aged 62) |
| Spouse |
Marie Genevieve Louise Gautier
(after 1755) |
| Children | Charles O'Brien, 9th Earl of Thomond Antoinette, Duchess of Praslin Lady Marie O'Brien |
| Parent(s) | Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare Charlotte Bulkeley |
Early life
editCharles O'Brien was the son of Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare and Charlotte Bulkeley, the sister of Anne Bulkeley, second wife of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick and Marshal of France.[1]
Career
editHe fought for France against Spain in 1718 with the rank of colonel in the service of his father's regiment and later fought in the War of the Polish Succession in the siege of Philippsburg in June 1734, where he was wounded. He gained the rank of Maréchal de Camp in 1735 in the service of the King's Armies. O'Brien also fought in the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 and in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745.[1]
When his cousin, Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond, offered the Thomond estates to Charles on the condition of his conversion to Protestantism, he refused, and so he willed them to the young son of William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin, Murrough, with remainder to Percy Wyndham.[2] Murrough's death in 1741 caused the reversion to become effective, with the estates leaving O'Brien hands.[3]
O'Brien was invested as a Knight, L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit of France on 2 February 1746 at the chapel of Versailles, Île-de-France, France. He held the office of Governor of Neuf-Brisach in Alsace, and was Commander-in-Chief of the province of Languedoc. In 1757 he was made a Marshal of France.[4]
Personal life
editIn 1755, O'Brien married Marie Genevieve Louise Gautier, daughter of François Gautier, marquis de Chiffreville. They had three children:[1]
- Charles O'Brien, 9th Earl of Thomond (1757–1774), who died unmarried.[5]
- Lady Charlotte Antoinette Marie Septimanie O'Brien (1759–1808), married Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin, 3rd Duke of Praslin.[1]
- Lady Marie O'Brien (1760–1786), who died unmarried.[1]
Lord Thomond died on 9 September 1761, aged 62, at Montpellier, France.[1] He was succeeded by his only son, Charles upon whose death the titles became extinct in 1774.[5]
Descendants
editThrough his daughter Antoinette, he was a grandfather of Lucie-Virginie de Choiseul-Praslin (1794–1834), who married Charles Just de Beauvau, 4th Prince of Beauvau in 1815;[6] and Charles-Félix de Choiseul-Praslin, 4th Duke of Praslin (1778–1841).[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Cokayne, George Edward (1913). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: Canonteign to Cutts. St. Catherine Press, Limited. p. 254. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Watson, Paula. "O'BRIEN, Henry, 7th Earl of Thomond [I] (1688-1741), of Great Billing, Northants. and co. Clare". www.histparl.ac.uk. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ O'Brien, Donough (1949). History of the O'Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945. Batsford. p. 215. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 869.
- ^ a b O'Callaghan, John Cornelius (1886). History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France,: From the Revolution in Great Britain and Ireland Under James II., to the Revolution in France Under Louis XVI. Cameron and Ferguson. p. 44. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ père), Anselme (de Sainte Marie (1879). Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la Maison royale de France: des pairs, grands officiers de la couronne et de la maison du roy, et des anciens barons du royaume ... (in French). Editions du Palais Royal. pp. 668–669. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ "Charles Félix de Choiseul-Praslin". www.britishmuseum.org. The British Museum. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
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