| Richard FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Gowran | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1727 |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | The Lord Gowran |
Richard FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Gowran (died 1727) was a British naval captain. [1]
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He was the second son of John Fitzpatrick of Castletown, Queen's County, by Elizabeth, fourth daughter of Thomas, viscount Thurles, and relict of James Purcell of Loughmoe.[1]
He entered the royal navy and was appointed, on 14 May 1687 commander of the HMS Richmond. On 24 May 1688, he was made captain of the HMS Assurance, from which in 1689 he was transferred to the HMS Lark, in which he cruised against the French in the German Ocean. Having distinguished himself on that station, he was advanced on 11 January 1690 to the command of the HMS St. Alban's, a fourth-rate, with which on 18 July he captured off Rame Head a French frigate of 36 guns, after a fight of four hours, in which the enemy lost forty men killed and wounded, the casualties on board the St. Alban's being only four; and the French ship was so shattered that she had to be towed into Plymouth.[1]
In February 1690–1, he drove on shore two French frigates and helped to cut out fourteen merchantmen from a convoy of twenty-two. In command of the HMS Burford (70 guns), he served under Lord Berkeley in 1696, and in July was detached to make a descent on the Groix, an island near Belle Île, off the west coast of Brittany, from which he brought off thirteen hundred head of cattle, with horses, boats, and small vessels. He was promoted to the command of the HMS Ranelagh (80 guns) on the outbreak of the war of the Spanish succession, and took part in James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde's mismanaged expedition against Cadiz (1702), and in the successful attack on Vigo which followed; but soon after retired from the service. [1]
In 1696, he had received a grant of the town and lands of Grantstown and other lands in Queen's County, and on 27 April 1715, he was raised to the Irish peerage as Baron Gowran of Gowran, Kilkenny. He took his seat on 12 November, and on 14 November helped to prepare an address to the king congratulating him upon his accession. He died on 9 June 1727. [1]
Fitzpatrick married in 1718 Anne, younger daughter of Sir John Robinson of Farmingwood, Northamptonshire, by whom he had two sons, John and Richard. The former, promoted to the Irish earldom of Upper Ossory on 5 October 1751, was father of Richard Fitzpatrick. [1]
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Gowran 1715–1727 |
Succeeded by John FitzPatrick |