Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun
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Arthur Edward Guinness, Baron Ardilaun (November 1, 1840 - January 20, 1915) was an Irish businessman, politician, and philanthropist.
Born at St Anne's, Clontarf, near Dublin, the fourth Arthur was the great-grandson of the original Arthur Guinness. He was the eldest son of Sir Benjamin Guinness, 1st Baronet, and elder brother of Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College Dublin, and in 1868 succeeded his father as second Baronet. That same year he was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the City of Dublin, a seat he held for only a year but which he won again in 1874. A supporter of Disraeli's 'one nation' conservatism, his politics were typical of 'constructive unionism', the belief that the union between Ireland and Britain should be more beneficial to the people of Ireland after centuries of difficulties.
After withdrawing from the Guinness company in 1876, when he sold his half-share to his brother Edward for £600,000, Sir Arthur Guinness was in 1880 created Baron Ardilaun, of Ashford in the County of Galway. His home there was at Ashford Castle on Lough Corrib, and his title derived from the Gaelic 'Ard Ilain', a 'high island' on the lake.
He was, like many in the Guinness family, a generous philanthropist, devoting himself to a number of public causes, including the restoration of Marsh's Library in Dublin and the extension of the city's Coombe Hospital. In buying and keeping intact the estate around Muckross House in 1899, he assisted the movement to preserve the lake and mountain landscape around Killarney, now a major tourist destination. He also bought, landscaped and gave to the capital the central public park of St Stephen's Green, his best-known achievement, where his statue can be seen opposite the Royal College of Surgeons.
President of the Royal Dublin Society (1892-1913), Lord Ardilaun died childless in 1915 at his home at St Anne's, Raheny, and was buried at All Saints, Raheny, County Dublin. His barony became extinct at his death, but the baronetcy devolved upon his nephew.
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Ardilaun | Succeeded by Extinct |
