Earl of Mayo

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Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo
Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo

Earl of the County of Mayo, usually known simply as Earl of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1785 for John Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo, for many years First Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland. He had already been created Baron Naas, of Naas in the County of Kildare, in 1776, and Viscount Mayo, of Moneycrower in the County of Mayo, in 1781, also in the Peerage of Ireland. This branch of the Bourke family descends from John Bourke, fourth son of Sir Thomas Bourke (d. 1397), whose second son Edmund was the ancestor of the Viscounts Mayo. The Marquesses of Sligo are members of another branch of this family. Lord Mayo was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl, who was a member of the Irish House of Commons. On his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Earl. He was a prominent clergyman and served as Bishop of Leighlin from 1772 to 1782 and as Archbishop of Tuam from 1782 to 1794. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fourth Earl. He sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1816 to 1849. On his death the titles passed to his nephew, the fifth Earl. He was an Irish Representative Peer in the House of Lords from 1852 to 1867.

His eldest son, the sixth Earl, was a prominent Conservative politician. Known for most of his life under his courtesy title of Lord Naas, he was three times Chief Secretary for Ireland and served as Governor-General of India from 1869 to 1872, when he was assassinated on the Andaman Islands. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the seventh Earl. He sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1890 to 1927 and was a Member of the Senate of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1927. This line of the family failed on his death in 1927 and the titles passed to the late Earl's first cousin, the eighth Earl. He was the son of Reverend the Hon. George Wingfield Bourke, fourth son of the fifth Earl. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the ninth Earl. On his death in 1962 the peerages passed to his nephew, the tenth Earl. He was the only son of the Hon. Bryan Longley Bourke, third son of the eighth Earl. Lord Mayo was involved in politics and unsuccessfully contested Dorset South in the 1964 general election as a Liberal. As of 2007 the titles are held by his eldest son, the eleventh Earl, who succeeded in 2006.

Several other members of the Bourke (pronounced "Burke") family have also gained distinction. The Right Reverend the Hon. Richard Bourke, second son of the third Earl and father of the fifth Earl, was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. The Hon. John Jocelyn Bourke (1823-1904), second son of the fifth Earl, was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. The Hon. Robert Bourke was a Conservative politician and was created Baron Connemara in 1887. Sir George Deane Bourke, grandson of Reverend the Hon. George Theobald Bourke, fourth son of the third Earl, was a Major-General in the Army.

The courtesy title of Lord Mayo's eldest son and heir is Lord Naas (pronounced "Nace").

[edit] Earls of Mayo (1785)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's eldest son Richard Thomas Bourke, Lord Naas (b. 1985)

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