Conor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin

Conor Myles John O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin (born 17 July 1943) is an Irish peer, farmer and 32nd indirect descendant to Brian Ború.[1]

The Right Honourable The Lord Inchiquin
Baron Inchiquin
Incumbent
Assumed office 1982
Personal details
Born	Conor Myles John O'Brien (1943-07-17) 17 July 1943 Surrey, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Helen O'Farrell, ( m. 1988)
Children	The Hon. Slaney O’Brien (born 1989) The Hon. Lucia O’Brien (born 1991)
Parents	The Hon. Fionn Myles Maryons O'Brien Josephine Reine O'Brien
Education	Claremont Fan Court School Eton College Mons Officer Cadet School
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1962–1975
Rank	Captain

Early Life

He is the son of the Hon. Fionn Myles Maryons O'Brien (28 October 1903 – 2 August 1977) and Josephine Reine O'Brien née Bembaron (Circa 1913-27 October 2011).[2] Fionn was the son of Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron of Inchiquin and Ethel Jane Foster. O'Brien was educated at Claremont Fan Court School, Eton College and the Mons Officer Cadet School.[3]

Career

O'Brien commissioned into the 14th/20th Kings Hussars of the British Army in 1963 serving as a troop commander in Benghazi, Tripoli , Cyprus on Operation Tosca, Tidworth, Paderborn as assistant adjutant, Singapore, Tidworth as adjutant of the regiment. He became Aide-de-Camp to Commander British Forces Gulf in Bahrain and left the Army with the rank of Captain.[4]

Commissioned into the Regiment from Mons OCS as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1963 and served as a Troop Leader in Benghazi and Tripoli Libya, Cyprus as UN, Tidworth England, Junior Staff College Warminster England, Paderborn Germany, Bahrain as ADC to CBFG Commander Bristish Forces Gulf, Paderborn Germany Assistant Adjutant, Singapore, Tidworth England Adjutant of the Regiment, Hong Kong GSO3 POLMIL. Retired in 1975

O'Brien worked on the Far East for a number of years, running his own trading company, Rattles Limited, specialising in the manufacture of Board Games, Backgammon, Chess and Mahjong in Hong Kong. O'Brien then became Corporate Officer for Inter Alpha Asia Bank (Hong Kong) between 1979 and 1981 and before he finally left the Far East O'Brien set up offices on behalf of the London Estate agents, Farrar Stead and Glynn.[5] O'Brien returned to live in Ireland and succeeded to the peerage of Baron Inchiquin, O'Brien then went on to be managing director of the Dromoland Development Company in 1983.[3]

Although the ancestral seat of Dromoland Castle has since left family hands O'Brien has continued to run the lands left on the estate that are still in family hands. O'Brien ran an exclusive guest house in their home, Thomond House at Dromoland adjacent to the former seat from 1984 until 2008. O'Brien also turned Dromoland Estate into a major sporting and leisure centre. In April 2010, O'Brien was awarded €7.9m in damages by the High Court over the repudiation of an agreement to buy 377 acres out of the 600 acres of the Dromoland estate which his family still owned.[6] In 2012, in a long running dispute with the management of Dromoland Castle, O'Brien was refused an application to the High Court for them to return 37 paintings that were loaned several decades prior.[7][8][9]

Other Work

As Baron Inchiquin O'Brien serves as Chief of the Dál gCais tribe and head of the O'Brien Dynasty. O'Brien is responsible for the formation of the O’Brien Clan Foundation and the first clan gathering for 400 years in 1992. In 2002 another clan gathering was arranged to commemorate the 1000th Anniversary of the accession of Brian Boru to the throne of Ireland, and in 2014, the Millennium of his death at The Battle of Clontarf in 1014.[5] In 1998, he visited Antioch, California for St. Patrick's Day and Antioch's first St. Patrick's Day Crinniu, hosted by then-Councilman Allen Payton and the city's council proclaimed "Sir Conor O'Brien Day".[10]

Dromoland Castle, the former ancestral seat.

O'Brien has also served as Chairman of the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains.[2]

Family

O'Brien succeeded to the peerage on the death of his uncle, Phaedrig O'Brien, 17th Baron Inchiquin, in 1982.[11][12]

O'Brien has one a sister, Fiona Jane O'Brien who is married Romano Louis Marie Joseph Ghislain Obert de Thieusies in 1965, son of Alain Martel Marie Joseph Ghislain Obert de Thieusies, Vicomte Obert de Thieusies.

He married Helen O'Farrell, daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald O'Farrell, in 1988. Together they have two children.

• The Hon. Slaney Alexandra Anne O'Brien b. 7 Jul 1989
• The Hon. Lucia Josephine Mary O'Brien b. 27 May 1991

The family seat of Dromoland Castle was sold after Donough O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin was forced to give in to the financial strain and sell the estate along with 350 acres to billionaire industrialist Bernard McDonough. The 16th Baron built a smaller residence adjacent to the estate, Thomond House, which he moved into in 1965. The castle today functions as a luxury hotel and his owned by a number of Irish-American businessmen. Conor O'Brien continues to reside in Thomond House.[3]

The heir presumptive is O'Briens second cousin Conor John Anthony O'Brien b. 1952.

References

1. McGuinness, Katy (1 February 2019). "Rare chance to acquire a modern show house on the grounds of Dromoland Castle". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
3. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
4. "Conor O'Brien Bio". O'Brien Clan Foundation. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
5. https://www.linkedin.com/in/conor-o-brien-a4788315/?originalSubdomain=ie
6. "Clare estate owner awarded €7.9m damages against O'Brien-controlled TPH". BreakingNews.ie. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
7. "Baron loses court bid on paintings". The Irish Times. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
8. Clarke, Jody (19 September 2012). "Court refuses to give Dromoland paintings back to Lord". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
9. Deegan, Gordan (24 March 2017). "Lord fails in attempt to halt €16m upgrade at Dromoland Castle". Irish Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
10. "St. Patrick's event was fun day for all". Ledger Dispatch. Sir Conor O'Brien was received warmly, and was taken aback when he received the proclamation from the City Council of "Sir Conor O'Brien Day in the City of ... 28 March 1998. pp. A10. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
11. "O'BRIENS FIND ROOTS IN UTAH". The Deseret News. Salt Lake City, UT. 16 February 1997. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
12. Welcome to the O'Brien Clan – Sir Conor O'Brien Archived 15 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Phaedrig O'Brien	Baron Inchiquin 1982–present	Succeeded by incumbent