Donough O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin

Donough Edward Foster O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin (5 January 1897 – 19 October 1968) was an Irish peer and 30th indirect descendent of Brian Boru.[1]

The Right Honourable The Lord Inchiquin
Baron Inchiquin
In office 9th December 1929 – 19th October 1968
Personal details
Born	Donough Edward Foster O'Brien 5 January 1897 16 Grosvenor Square, London, United Kingdom
Died	19 October 1968(1968-10-19) (aged 71)
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	The Hon. Anne Thesiger ( m. 1921)
Children	The Hon. Deirdre O'Brien (born 1924) Hon. Grania O'Brien(born 1928)
Parents	Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron of Inchiquin Ethel Jane Foster
Education	Magdalen College School, Oxford Eton College Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Awards	Order of the Crown of Romania
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1916–1921 1939-1942
Rank	Captain
Unit	Rifle Brigade London Rifle Brigade
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Early Life

Inchiquin was the first of five children born to Lucius O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin and Ethel Jane O'Brien née Foster, daughter of Johnston Jonas Foster JP of Cliffe Hill, Lightcliffe. Inchiquin was educated at Magdalen College School, Eton College and the Royal Military College.[2][3][1]

Military Career

Inchiquin was commissioned from the Royal Military College into Rifle Brigade on 1916, he continued to serve in the brigade within the 3rd Battalion throughout the First World War. Inchiquin was Aid-de-Camp to the Viceroy of India and his future father in-law, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, between 1919 and 1920. Inchiquin left regular service in 1921. He was awarded the Order of the Crown (Romania).[4]

Inchiquin returned to service in 1939 with the territorial regiment, the London Rifle Brigade. He continued to serve in the Second World War to 1942, when he finally retired with the rank of Captain. [5]

Family

Inchiquin was the older brother of Phaedrig O'Brien, 17th Baron Inchiquin and the uncle of the current incumbent of the Baron Inchiquin title, Conor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin.

He married, on 13 December 1921[5] Anne Molyneux Thesiger (1898-1973), daughter of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India who Inchiquin served under as his Aid-de-Camp. Together they had two daughters:

The 16th Baron Inchiquins eldest daughter the Hon. Deirdre Chapin née O'Brien

• The Hon. Deirdre O'Brien born 1924, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service during the Second World War. She married the physician Dr Horace Beecher Chapin (died. 19 Feb 1992), son of Horace H. Chapin of New York on the 23 April 1954. [6] Her last reported residence was Bermuda. [7]

• The Hon. Grania O'Brien born 1928 who was Private Secretary to Sir Arthur Salter PC MP between 1947 and 1952. O'Brien was then social secretary to Sir John Balfour, KCMG in 1952 and then to Sir Esler Denning, GCMG between 1954 and 1957.[8] O'Brien then went on to be social secretary to the Hon. John Hay Whitney, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1958 and then finally to Sir Berkeley Gage, Ambassador to Peru between 1958 and 1960[8] On the 17th July 1973 O'Brien wed Hugh William Lindsay Weir, son of Major Terence Weir MC. Her last reported residence was Ballinakella Lodge, County Clare.

Inchiquin inherited the family Dromoland Castle estate in Ireland and Moor Park near Ludlow, Shropshire. He moved home permanently to Ireland in 1939.[9] Inchiquin had managed to keep hold of the estate for 20 years, by turning the estate into a dairy farm however by 1948 the financial state of the estate was so dire Inchiquin had to allow tourists to stay as paying guests. In 1962 Inchiquin finally gave in to the financial strain and sold the Dromoland Castle and 350 acres (1.4 km²) of its estate to billionaire industrialist Bernard McDonough and built himself nearby Thomond House, which he moved into in 1965 and a house that the current Baron Inchiquin resides in. [10] The ancesteral seat today serves as a luxury hotel and continues to be owned by a series of Irish American businessmen.

Dromoland Castle today

As the holder of the hereditary peerage in the Peerage of Ireland, Baron Inchiquin he was the Chief of the Dál gCais tribe, Chief of the Name of O'Brien and Prince of Thomond in the Gaelic Irish nobility.[8]

Inchiquin died in 1968 aged 71 and was succeeded in the peerage by his younger brother, Phaedrig.[6]

References

1. Who Was Who, 1961-1970. A and C Black. p. 578.
2. "Ancestors of Donough Edward Foster O'Brien, 16th Baron". www.holmesacourt.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
3. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
4. Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1926. Kelly's. p. 1260.
5. The Complete Peerage, Volume VII. St Catherine's Press. 1929. p. 57.
6. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
7. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
8. "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
9. Moor Park School website - history page
10. "The History of Dromoland Castle | Read Our Story | Dromoland Castle". Dromoland Hotel. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Lucius O'Brien	Baron Inchiquin 1929–1968	Succeeded by Phaedrig O'Brien