The Lord Emly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the Board of Health | |
| In office 9 February 1857 – 24 September 1857 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | Hon. William Cowper |
| Succeeded by | Hon. William Cowper |
| Paymaster General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade | |
| In office 12 March 1866 – 26 June 1866 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl Russell |
| Preceded by | George Goschen |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Cave |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 10 December 1868 – 14 January 1871 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Charles Adderley |
| Succeeded by | Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen |
| Postmaster General | |
| In office 14 January 1871 – 18 November 1873 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Marquess of Hartington |
| Succeeded by | Lyon Playfair |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1812-09-21)21 September 1812 |
| Died | 20 April 1894(1894-04-20) (aged 81) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly,PC (21 September 1812 – 20 April 1894)[1][2] was anAnglo-Irish landowner andLiberal politician. He held a number of ministerial positions between 1852 and 1873, notably asPresident of the Board of Health in 1857 and asPostmaster General between 1871 and 1873.
Monsell was born to William Monsell (1778–1822), of Tervoe,Clarina,County Limerick,[2] and Olivia, daughter ofSir John Johnson-Walsh, 1st Baronet, of Ballykilcavan. He was educated atWinchester (1826–1830) andOriel College,Oxford, but he left the university without proceeding to a degree in 1831.[1][2] As his father had died in 1824, he succeeded to the family estates oncoming of age and was a popular landlord, the more so as he was resident.[1] In 1843 he helped foundSt Columba's College inWhitechurch, now part ofDublin.
Monsell served as the Sheriff ofCounty Limerick in 1835.[2] In 1847, he was elected Member of Parliament forCounty Limerick as aLiberal, and represented the constituency until 1874. In 1850, he became aCatholic and thereafter took a prominent part in Catholic affairs, especially in Parliament. As a friend ofWiseman,Newman, Montalambert,W. G. Ward, and other eminent Catholics, he was intimately acquainted with the various interests of the Church, and his parliamentary position was often of great advantage to the Church.[1]
In 1852 Monsell was appointedClerk of the Ordnance byLord Aberdeen, a post he retained until 1857, the last two years under the premiership ofLord Palmerston. In 1855 he was sworn of thePrivy Council.[3] He was brieflyPresident of the Board of Health under Palmerston in 1857 and later served underLord Russell asPaymaster General andVice-President of the Board of Trade in 1866 and underWilliam Ewart Gladstone asUnder-Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1868 and 1871 and asPostmaster-General between January 1871 and November 1873.[1] He was alsoLord Lieutenant of County Limerick between 1871 and 1894 and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal University of Ireland between 1885 and 1894.[2]
On 12 January 1874 Monsell was raised to the peerage asBaron Emly,of Tervoe in theCounty of Limerick.[4][1][2] He lost much of his popularity in Ireland during his later years, because of his opposition to theIrish National Land League and to thehome rule movement in Ireland. His work being chiefly parliamentary, he wrote little, but published some articles in theHome and Foreign Review and a "Lecture on the Roman Question" (1860).[1]
Lord Emly was twice married. He married firstly Lady Anna Maria Charlotte Wyndham-Quin (1814–1855), only daughter ofWindham Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, in August 1836,[1] with whom he had two sons, both of whom died in infancy. After her death on 7 January 1855,[2] he married Bertha (1835–1890), youngest daughter the Comte de Montigny of the house of Montigny de Perreux, in 1857, by whom he had one son Gaston (1858–1932), later the second Lord Emly, and one daughter Mary Olivia (1860–1942).[1][2] Lord Emly died in April 1894, aged 81.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCounty Limerick 1847 –1874 With:William Smith O'Brien 1847–1849 Samuel Dickson 1849–1850 Wyndham Goold 1850–1854 Stephen Edward de Vere 1854–1859 Samuel Auchmuty Dickson 1859–1865 Edward John Synan 1865–1874 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Board of Health 1857 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1866 | Succeeded by |
| Vice-President of the Board of Trade 1866 | ||
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1868–1871 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Postmaster-General 1871–1873 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Clerk of the Ordnance 1852–1857 | Office abolished |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of Limerick 1871–1894 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Emly 1874–1894 | Succeeded by Gaston Monsell |
