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William Burton Conyngham

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William Burton Conyngham
portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs (1754/1755)
Member of the Parliament of Ireland
In office
1761–1796
Personal details
Born1733
Died31 May 1796
Parent

William Burton Conyngham (1733 – 31 May 1796) was an Anglo-Irish politician.

Life

[edit]

He was born William Burton, the second son of Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham, sister of Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham.[1] In 1781, his name was changed by Royal Licence to inherit the estates of his uncle.

He was a student at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1750 and in turn at Lincoln's Inn from 1753, he then proceeded to follow a military career, being commissioned as a Captain in 1759, and by 1769 he had advanced to Lieutenant-Colonel in the 12th Dragoons. He resigned his Regular Army commission in 1774,[2] but in April 1793 he was appointed Colonel to raise and command the new Prince of Wales's Own Donegal Militia.[3]

Conyngham was a longtime Member of Parliament. From 1761 to 1777 he represented Newtown Limavady,[1] from 1776 to 1777 as well as from 1783 to 1790 Killybegs. Between 1776 and 1783 and again between 1790 and 1796, he sat in the Irish House of Commons for Ennis.[2]

by Gilbert Stuart circa 1792

Conyngham planned a settlement on the previously unpopulated island of Rutland, Ireland, having installed, from 1784, a street of residences and business premises, post office, school house and a fish landing and processing facility. The island remained inhabited into the 1960s. The village which developed around the mainland pier which served Rutland, Burtonport, still bears his name.[4]

Slane Castle, County Meath

In 1785 Conyngham commenced the building of Slane Castle, assisted by his nephew the 1st Marquess Conyngham, on a site overlooking the River Boyne just a few kilometres upstream from the site of the Battle of the Boyne.

From 1793 Conyngham was one of the Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland.

Conyngham is most famous today for having presented the Trinity College Harp to Trinity College Dublin; from 1922 the harp was used as the model for the insignia of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland. An image was also registered as a Guinness trade mark in 1876.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Kelly, James. "Conyngham, William Burton". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Lunney, Linde; Geoghegan, Patrick M. (1 October 2009). "Conyngham, William Burton". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.001997.v1. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  3. ^ Arthur Sleigh, The Royal Militia and Yeomanry Cavalry Army List, April 1850, London: British Army Despatch Press, 1850/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 1991, ISBN 978-1-84342-410-9, p. 140.
  4. ^ "Burtonport".
  5. ^ Dennison, S.R. (Stanley Raymond); Oliver McDonagh (1998). Guinness 1886-1939: From Incorporation to the Second World War. Cork University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9781859181751.
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Newtown Limavady
1761–1777
With: Edmond Leslie-Corry 1761–1765
John Staples 1765–1768
Richard Jones 1768–1776
Alexander Murray 1776–1777
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Killybegs
1776–1777
With: Sir Henry Hamilton, 1st Bt
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Ennis
1776–1783
With: Sir Lucius O'Brien, 3rd Bt 1776–1778
Francis Bernard 1778–1783
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Killybegs
1783–1790
With: James FitzGerald 1783
William Colvill 1783–1790
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Ennis
1790–1796
With: Sir Lucius O'Brien, 3rd Bt 1790–1795
Sir Edward O'Brien, 4th Bt 1795–1796
Succeeded by