Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in thePeerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended fromNicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland asBaron Loftus, ofLoftus Hall in theCounty of Wexford, in 1751. In 1756 he was further honoured when he was madeViscount Loftus, of Ely in theCounty of Wicklow. He was succeeded by his son,Nicholas, the second Viscount. He had previously representedFethard in theIrish House of Commons. In 1766 he was created Earl of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland. Lord Ely assumed the additional surname of Hume. He was succeeded by his son,Nicholas, the second Earl. He represented both Fethard andBannow in the Irish Parliament.
The earldom became extinct on his early death in 1769 while he was succeeded in the barony and viscountcy by his uncle,Henry, the fourth Viscount. He represented Bannow andCounty Wexford in the Irish House of Commons. In 1771 the earldom was revived when he was created Earl of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland. However, all three titles became extinct on his death in 1783. He devised his estates to his nephewCharles Tottenham, who assumed the surname of Loftus in lieu of his patronymic and was created Baron Loftus in 1789, Viscount Loftus in 1789, Earl of Ely in 1794 andMarquess of Ely in 1800. See the latter title for more information on these peerages.[citation needed]
The title refers to Ely inCounty Wicklow, not to the English city ofEly, Cambridgeshire; the second syllable is pronounced to rhyme with "lie" rather than "lee" (and so the title is pronounced in the same way as the first nameEli).[citation needed]