| Earldom of Portarlington | |
|---|---|
  Arms: Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Barry nebuly of six Argent and Gules, over all a Bend engrailed Azure (for Damer); 2nd & 3rd, Azure, a Chevron Ermine, between three Arrows palewise points downwards Or, barbed and flighted proper, on a Chief Argent, three Martlets Sable, a Canton Gules, charged with a Mullet Or (for Dawson).Crests: 1st, Out of a Mural Crown Or, a Talbot’s Head Azure, eared Gold (for Damer); 2nd, A Cat’s Head affrontée erased near the shoulders, of a Tabby colour, holding in the mouth a Rat Sable (for Dawson).Supporters: On either side an Heraldic Tiger proper. | |
| Creation date | 21 June 1785 |
| Created by | Georges III |
| Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
| First holder | John Dawson, 2nd Viscount Carlow |
| Present holder | Charles Dawson-Damer, 8th Earl of Portarlington |
| Heir apparent | Henry Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow |
| Remainder to | The 1st Earl’sheirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount Carlow Baron Dawson |
| Status | Extant |
| Seat(s) | Gledswood House |
| Former seat(s) | Emo Court |
| Motto | VITÆ VIA VIRTUS (Virtue is the way of life) |
Earl of Portarlington is a title in thePeerage of Ireland.[1] It was created in 1785 forJohn Dawson, 2nd Viscount Carlow, who had earlier representedPortarlington in theIrish House of Commons. He was the son ofWilliam Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow, who had represented Portarlington andQueen's County in the Irish House of Commons, and had been createdBaron Dawson, of Dawson's Court in the Queen's County, in 1770, andViscount Carlow, in the County of Carlow, in 1776.[2] These titles were also in the Peerage of Ireland. The first Earl was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He was a Colonel in the23rd Light Dragoons but disappeared the night before theBattle of Waterloo and thus missed the start of the battle. He then attached himself to the 18th Hussars, but after the battle was forced to resign his commission in disgrace, fell into dissipation and 'died in an obscure London slum'.[3]
He never married and was succeeded by his nephew, the third Earl. He was the son of Captain the Hon. Henry Dawson, second son of the first Earl, who had assumed bySign Manual the additional surname of Damer on inheriting the large Milton Abbey estate in Dorset from his aunt Lady Caroline Damer. Lord Portarlington sat in theHouse of Lords as anIrish representative peer from 1855 to 1889.
On his death the titles passed to his cousin, the fourth Earl. He was the son of Colonel the Hon.George Dawson-Damer, third son of the first Earl. Lord Portarlington representedPortarlington in theHouse of Commons as aConservative. He was succeeded by his son, the fifth Earl. He was an Irish Representative Peer from 1896 to 1900. As of 2014[update] the titles are held by his great-grandson, the seventh Earl, who succeeded his grandfather in 1959. He is the son of George Lionel Seymour Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow, proprietor of theCorvinus Press, who was killed in action in 1944.
The family seat is Gledswood House, nearMelrose, Roxburghshire. The former family seat wasEmo Court, nearEmo, County Laois.
George Dawson-Damer, 7th Earl of Portarlington (10 August 1938 – 6 October 2024) was the elder son of Air Commodore George Lionel Seymour Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow, and his wife Peggy Cambie. He was educated atEton College and wasPage of Honour toQueen Elizabeth II between April 1953 and February 1955.[6] In 1956 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into theIrish Guards. On 4 July 1959 he succeeded to the peerages. In 1965 he was a director of G. S. Yuill and Company inSydney, Australia.[6]
On 26 July 1961 he married Davinia Windley, a daughter of Sir Edward Henry Windley and Patience Ann Sergison-Brooke, and they had four children:[6]
Theheir apparent is the present holder's son, Henry Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow (born 2009).
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Earl of Portarlington" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
