Marquess of Sligo
Marquess of Sligo is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Mount Eagle, of Westport in the County 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) and Baron 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 the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The latter peerage entitled the Marquesses to a seat in the House of Lords prior to the House of Lords Act 1999. The Earldom of Clanricarde was inherited by the sixth Marquess in 1916 according to a special remainder in the letters patent.
The Browne family descends from Colonel John Browne, younger son of Sir John Browne, 1st Baronet, of The Neale, County Mayo, whose eldest son, the second Baronet, was the ancestor of the Barons Kilmaine. The baronetcy was created in 1636. Colonel John Browne's grandson John Browne represented Castlebar in the Irish House of Commons. He was created Baron Mount Eagle in 1760, Viscount Westport in 1768 and Earl of Altamont in 1771. Both his son, the second Earl, and grandson, the third Earl, represented County Mayo in the Irish Parliament. In 1800 the latter was elected as one of the 28 original Irish Representative Peers and later that year he was created Marquess of Sligo.
In 1806 he was made Baron Monteagle in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave the Marquesses an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess. He was Lord Lieutenant of County Mayo from 1842 to 1845. Lord Sligo married Lady Hester Catherine de Burgh, eldest daughter of John 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. Lord Sligo's younger son, the fourth Marquess, represented County 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 cousin Hubert 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 Sydney, Australia.[1]
The family seat is Westport House, near Westport, County Mayo in Ireland. After the death of the 11th Marquess, it passed to his five daughters, in accordance to a private legislation passed by the Irish Senate in 1993.[2] The titles of Mount Eagle and Altamont derive from Croagh Patrick near Westport.
Earls of Altamont (1771)
- John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont (died 1776)
- Peter Browne, 2nd Earl of Altamont (died 1780)
- John Denis Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont (1756–1809) (created Marquess of Sligo In 1800)
Marquesses of Sligo (1800)
- John Denis Browne, 1st Marquess of Sligo (1756–1809)
- Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845)
- George John Browne, 3rd Marquess of Sligo (1820–1896)
- John Thomas Browne, 4th Marquess of Sligo (1824–1903)
- Henry Ulick Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo (1831–1913)
- George Ulick Browne, 6th Marquess of Sligo (1856–1935)
- Ulick John Browne, 7th Marquess of Sligo (1898–1941)
- Arthur Howe Browne, 8th Marquess of Sligo (1867–1951)
- Terence Morris Browne, 9th Marquess of Sligo (1873–1952)
- Denis Edward Browne, 10th Marquess of Sligo (1908–1991)[3]
- Jeremy Ulick Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo (1939–2014)
- Sebastian Ulick Browne, 12th Marquess of Sligo (born 1964)
The heir apparent is the present holder's son Christopher Ulick Browne, Earl of Altamont (born 1988).