| Marquessate of Sligo | |
|---|---|
  Arms: Sable, three Lions passant in bend Argent, between four Bendlets Argent.Crest: An Eagle displayed Vert.Supporters: Dexter: A Talbot gorged with a Baron’s Coronet proper; Sinister: A Horse Argent. | |
| Creation date | 29 December 1800 |
| Created by | George III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
| First holder | John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont |
| Present holder | Sebastian Browne, 12th Marquess of Sligo |
| Heir apparent | Christopher Browne, Earl of Altamont and Clanricarde |
| Remainder to | Heirs male of the first Marquess's body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Earl of Altamont Earl of Clanricarde Viscount Westport Baron Mount Eagle Baron Monteagle |
| Status | Extant |
| Former seat | Westport House |
| Motto | SUIVEZ RAISON ("Follow the right") |
Marquess of Sligo is a title in thePeerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 forJohn Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. TheMarquess holds the subsidiary titles ofBaron Mount Eagle, ofWestport in theCounty of Mayo (created 10 September 1760), Viscount Westport, of Westport in the County of Mayo (created 24 August 1768),Earl of Altamont, in the County of Mayo (created 4 December 1771),Earl of Clanricarde (created 1800) andBaron Monteagle, of Westport in the County of Mayo (created 20 February 1806). All these titles are in the Peerage of Ireland, except the Barony of Monteagle, which is in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. The latter peerage entitled the Marquesses to a seat in theHouse of Lords prior to theHouse of Lords Act 1999. The Earldom of Clanricarde was inherited by the sixth Marquess in 1916 according to a special remainder in theletters patent.
The Browne family descends from Colonel John Browne, younger son of Sir John Browne, 1st Baronet, ofThe Neale,County Mayo, whose eldest son, the second Baronet, was the ancestor of theBarons Kilmaine. The baronetcy was created in 1636. Colonel John Browne's grandson John Browne representedCastlebar in theIrish House of Commons. He was createdBaron Mount Eagle in 1760,[1]Viscount Westport in 1768 andEarl of Altamont in 1771,[2] the titles of Mount Eagle and Altamont deriving fromCroagh Patrick near Westport. Both his son, the second Earl, and grandson, the third Earl, representedCounty Mayo in the Irish Parliament. In 1800 the latter was elected as one of the 28 originalIrish representative peers and later that year he was createdMarquess of Sligo.[3]
In 1806, he was madeBaron Monteagle in thePeerage of the United Kingdom,[4] which gave the Marquesses an automatic seat in theHouse of Lords. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess. He wasLord Lieutenant of County Mayo from 1842 to 1845. Lord Sligo married Lady Hester Catherine de Burgh, eldest daughter ofJohn Thomas de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricarde.
In 1800, Lord Clanricarde was given a new Earldom of Clanricarde, with remainder, failing heirs male of his own, to the heirs male of his two daughters.[3] Lord Sligo's younger son, the fourth Marquess, representedCounty Mayo in Parliament from 1857 to 1868. His nephew, the sixth Marquess, succeeded to the Earldom of Clanricarde (1800 creation) in 1916 on the death of his cousinHubert George de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde. As of 2014, the titles are held by his great-nephew, the twelfth Marquess, who succeeded his first cousin in 2014. He is a property consultant living in the central highlands of regional Victoria, Australia.
The family seat wasWestport House, nearWestport, County Mayo inIreland. After the death of the 11th Marquess, it passed to his five daughters, in accordance with a private legislation passed by the Irish Senate in 1993.[5] Westport House was sold by Lord Sligo's daughters in October 2017, breaking the formal link between Westport House and the family which had been ongoing for 380 years. The house was sold to the Hughes family, a local family of entrepreneurs withPortwest clothing manufacturing operations and a hotel in Westport.[6]
Sebastian Ulick Browne, 12th Marquess of Sligo (born 27 May 1964), is the son of Lord Ulick Browne and his wife, Fiona Glenn, and a first cousin ofthe 11th Marquess. He was educated atRugby School.[7]
On 13 July 2014, Browne succeeded as Marquess of Sligo (I., 1800), Earl of Altamont (I., 1771), Earl of Clanricarde (I., 1800), Viscount Westport, of Westport (I., 1768), Baron Mount Eagle of Westport (I., 1760), and Baron Monteagle of Westport (U.K., 1806).[7]
Lord Sligo did not inheritWestport House and the Altamont estate in Ireland, as his predecessor, the 11th Marquess, had successfully petitioned to have anAct of the Oireachtas (an IrishAct of Parliament) passed which enabled him to break the family trust and leave the estate to his five daughters. They were forced to sell the property in 2017.[8]
In 1984, the current Lord Sligo married firstly Christina Maria Suaznabar, daughter of Luis Suaznabar; they were divorced in 1992, after having two children:[7][9]
On 22 January 2016, atWollongong,New South Wales, he married secondly Claire Suzanne van Middelkoop.[9]
Line of succession |
|---|
There are further male heirs in line to the earldom of Altamont and its subsidiary titles, who are descended from the younger son of the 2nd earl.[9] |
Sorted by (historical) entity at time of grant | ||
England | | |
Scotland | ||
Great Britain | ||
Ireland | ||
United Kingdom | ||