| Earldom of Antrim 2nd creation | |
|---|---|
  Quarterly:1st & 4th grand-quarters(for MacDonnell) 1st, Or, a Lion rampant Gules; 2nd, Or, a dexter Arm issuant from the sinister fess point out of a Cloud proper, in the hand a Cross-Crosslet fitchée erect Azure; 3rd, Argent, a Ship with sails furled Sable, 4th, per fess Azure and Vert, a Dolphin naiant in fess proper. 2nd & 3rd grand quarters(for Kerr) 1st & 4th, Azure, a Sun-in Splendour Or; 2nd, Gules, on a Chevron Azure, three Mullets Gules; 3rd, Sable, on a Chevron between three Unicorn's Heads Argent, three Mullets Sable. | |
| Creation date | 19 June 1785 |
| Creation | Second |
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Ireland |
| First holder | Randal MacDonnell, 6th and 1st Earl of Antrim |
| Present holder | Randal McDonnell, 10th Earl of Antrim |
| Heir apparent | Randal MacDonnell, Viscount Dunluce |
| Remainder to | the 1st Earl's daughters and theheirs male of their respective bodies lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Dunluce |
| Seat | Glenarm Castle |
| Former seat | Dunluce Castle |
 Quarterly:1st, Or, a Lion rampant Gules; 2nd, Or, a dexter Arm issuant from the sinister fess point out of a Cloud proper, in the hand a Cross-Crosslet fitchée erect Azure; 3rd, Argent, a Ship with sails furled Sable, 4th, per fess Azure and Vert, a Dolphin naiant in fess proper. | |
| Creation date | 12 December 1620(Earl of Antrim) 26 January 1645(Marquess of Antrim – 1st creation) 18 August 1789 (Marquess of Antrim – 2nd creation) |
|---|---|
| Creation | First |
| Created by | James VI and I(Earldom - 1st creation) Charles I(Marquessate – 1st creation) George III(Marquessate – 2nd creation) |
| Peerage | Ireland |
| First holder | Randal MacDonnell, 1st Viscount Dunluce(Earldom) Randal MacDonnell, 2nd Earl of Antrim(Marquess- 1st creation) Randal MacDonnell, 6th & 1st Earl of Antrim(Marquess – 2nd creation) |
| Last holder | Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim (1645 creation) Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim (1789 creation)(Marquessate and Earldom – 1st creation) |
| Remainder to | The 1st Earl's/Marquess'sheirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Dunluce |
| Status | Extinct |
| Extinction date | 3 February 1682(marquessate – 1st creation) 29 July 1791(earldom and marquessate – 2nd creation) |
| Motto | TOUJOURS PREST (Always ready) |
Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in thePeerage of Ireland and both times for members of theMacDonnell family, originally ofScottish origins.
The MacDonells of Antrim descended fromSorley Boy MacDonnell, who established the family inCounty Antrim. His fourth sonRandal MacDonnell was createdViscount Dunluce, in the County of Antrim, in 1618, andEarl of Antrim in 1620. Both titles were in the Peerage of Ireland. His eldest son, the second Earl, fought as a Royalist in theCivil War and was createdMarquess of Antrim in the Peerage of Ireland in 1645. He was childless and on his death in 1682 the marquessate became extinct.
He was succeeded in the viscountcy and earldom by his younger brother, the third Earl. He representedWigan in theEnglish House of Commons and also served asLord Lieutenant of Antrim. Lord Antrim was attainted in 1689 for his support ofKing James II but was restored in 1697. His grandson, the fifth Earl, was Governor ofCounty Antrim. He was succeeded by his son, the sixth Earl. He representedCounty Antrim in theIrish House of Commons. Lord Antrim had no sons, and as there were no other male heirs left of the first Earl, the titles were heading for extinction. However, in 1785King George III created himViscount Dunluce andEarl of Antrim in the Peerage of Ireland, with remainder to his daughters in order of seniority and the heirs male of their bodies.[1] In 1789 he was further honoured when he was madeMarquess of Antrim in the Peerage of Ireland, with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body.[2]
On Lord Antrim's death in 1791 the viscountcy of Dunluce of 1618, the earldom of Antrim of 1620 and the marquessate became extinct. He was succeeded in the viscountcy and earldom of 1785 according to the special remainders by his eldest daughter Anne Catherine, the second holder of the titles. She married as her first husband Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, 2nd Baronet, of Long Newton. Their daughterLady Frances Vane-Tempest marriedCharles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, and was the great-grandmother of Prime MinisterWinston Churchill. Lady Antrim had no sons and was succeeded by her younger sister Charlotte, the third holder. She was the wife ofVice AdmiralLord Mark Robert Kerr, third son ofWilliam John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian.
She was succeeded by her eldest surviving son, the fourth Earl. He assumed in 1836 by Royal licence the surname of McDonnell in lieu of Kerr. He had no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. On succeeding his brother in 1855, he too assumed by Royal licence the surname of McDonnell in lieu of Kerr. As of 2021[update] the titles are held by his great-great-great-grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his father in that year. As a male-line descendant of the 5th Marquess of Lothian, he is also in remainder to that Scottish peerage and its subsidiary titles.
Angus McDonnell (1881–1966), second son of the sixth Earl of the second creation, wasMember of Parliament forDartford.
The family seat isGlenarm Castle, nearGlenarm,County Antrim, inNorthern Ireland.
The Dunluce Cup is awarded at the Larne Music Festival by the Viscount or Viscountess Dunluce, heir to the Earl of Antrim.[3]
The McQuillan family held Dunluce before the McDonnells, but they were overthrown during the 1500s and were not granted any peerage.
Theheir apparent is the son of the present Earl, Alexander David Somerled McDonnell, Viscount Dunluce (born 2006).
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