Earl of Granard

Earl of Granard

Arms of the Earl of Bessborough
Arms: Azure three Bears' Heads couped Argent muzzled Gules.
Creation date30 December 1684
Created byCharles II
PeeragePeerage of Ireland
First holderArthur Forbes, 1st Earl of Granard
Present holderPeter Arthur Edward Hastings Forbes, 10th Earl of Granard
Heir apparentJonathan Peter Hastings Forbes, Viscount Forbes
Remainder tothe 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten.
Subsidiary titlesViscount Granard
Baron Clanehugh
Baron Granard
Baronet, of Castle Forbes
StatusExtant
SeatCastle Forbes
MottoFAX MENTIS INCENDIUM GLORIAE
(The incitement to glory is the firebrand of the mind)

Earl of Granard is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1684 for Arthur Forbes, 1st Viscount Granard. He was a lieutenant-general in the army and served as Marshal of the Army in Ireland after the Restoration and was later Lord Justice of Ireland. He had already succeeded his father as second Baronet of Castle Forbes and been created Baron Clanehugh and Viscount Granard in 1675, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The baronetcy, of Castle Forbes in County Longford, was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 29 September 1628 for his father, Arthur Forbes, a direct descendant of Patrick Forbes of Corsse, a younger son of James Forbes, 2nd Lord Forbes (died 1476).

The first Earl's grandson, the third Earl, was an admiral in the Royal Navy. He was summoned to the Irish House of Lords through a writ of acceleration as Lord Forbes in his father's lifetime. He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was a lieutenant-general in the Army. His grandson, the sixth Earl, was a general in the Army. In 1806 he was created Baron Granard, of Castle Donington in the County of Leicester, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title gave the Earls an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. On his death the titles passed to his grandson, the seventh Earl. He notably served as Lord Lieutenant of County Leitrim from 1856 to 1872. His son, the eighth Earl, was a soldier and Liberal politician. Lord Granard held junior office in the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith and was also a member of the Senate of Southern Ireland and of the Senate of the Irish Free State. As of 2014 the titles are held by his grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his uncle in 1992.

The invented title of Viscount Forbes is used as a courtesy title for the Earl's heir apparent.

The family seat is Castle Forbes, near Newtownforbes, County Longford.

An image of Castle Forbes, County Longford circa 1900.

Forbes baronets, of Castle Forbes (1628)

Viscount Granard (1675)

Earl of Granard (1684)

Bookplate by Henry Badeley showing the coat of arms and motto of Forbes, Earl of Granard

The heir apparent is the present holder's son, Jonathan Peter Hastings Forbes, Viscount Forbes (born 1981).

Family tree

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. 160A, Fleet Street, London, UK: Dean & Son. p. 416.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. ↑ Hesilrige 1921, p. 416.
  3. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]
  4. 1 2 Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  5. ↑ "Castle Forbes, CASTLEFORBES DEMESNE, Newtown Forbes, LONGFORD". National Inventory Of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of Ireland.
  6. ↑ "John Forbes - The Lord Who Wasn't". Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Forbes of Corse". Register. The Times. No. 74045. London. 16 March 2023. col. 5, p. 55.