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Earl of Bantry, of Bantry in the County of Cork, was a title in thePeerage of Ireland. It was created in 1816 forRichard White, 1st Viscount Bantry, who had helped repelling the French invasion atBantry Bay in 1797. He had already been createdBaron Bantry, of Bantry in the County of Cork, in 1797, andViscount Bantry, of Bantry in the County of Cork, in 1800, and was madeViscount Berehaven at the same time he was given the earldom. These titles were also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was the grandson of Richard White, who had made an immense fortune through his work as a lawyer. Lord Bantry was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He sat on theConservative benches in theHouse of Lords as anIrish representative peer from 1854 to 1868. His younger brother, the third Earl, assumed in 1840 by royal licence the additional surname of Hedges, which was that of his paternal grandmother. He was an Irish representative peer from 1869 to 1884. The titles became extinct on the death of his son, the fourth Earl, in 1891.
The family seat wasBantry House, nearBantry, inCounty Cork,Ireland. The house is still in the hands of the White family.