John Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart

John Otway O'Conner Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart (12 October 1818 – 1 April 1865), styled Viscount Castlecuffe until 1820, was an Irish Conservative politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between March and December 1852 in the Earl of Derby's first administration.

The Right Honourable The Earl of Desart
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office 2 March 1852 – 17 December 1852
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	Frederick Peel
Succeeded by	Frederick Peel
Personal details
Born	12 October 1818 (1818-10-12)
Died	1 April 1865 (1865-05) (aged 46)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Lady Elizabeth Campbell (1822-1898)

Background

Desart was the son of John Cuffe, 2nd Earl of Desart, and Catherine, daughter of Maurice O'Connor. He succeeded in the earldom in November 1820, aged two, on the early death of his father.[1] He was educated at Eton College and entered Christ Church, Oxford in 1836 but took no degree.[2]

Political career

Desart sat in the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Ipswich between June and July 1842, when his election was declared void.[3] In 1846 he was elected an Irish Representative Peer and thus took a seat in the House of Lords, which he held until his death in 1865.[4] He served as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in Lord Derby's short-lived protectionist government of 1852.

Family

Lord Desart married Lady Elizabeth Lucy, daughter of John Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor, in 1842. They had three sons and a daughter. He died at his London home in Eaton Square on 1 April 1865, through a fall suffered during an attack of paralysis, aged 46.[2] He was succeeded in the earldom by his son, William. The Countess of Desart died in April 1898, aged 76.[1]

References

1. thepeerage.com Otway O'Conner Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart
2. The Complete Peerage, Volume III. St Catherine's Press. 1916. p. 229.
3. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Ilchester to Itchen". Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
4. leighrayment.com Representative Peers - Ireland

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Earl of Desart

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Rigby Wason George Rennie	Member of Parliament for Ipswich 1842 With: Thomas Gladstone	Succeeded by John Neilson Gladstone Sackville Walter Lane-Fox
Preceded by The Earl of Thomond	Irish Representative Peer 1846–1865	Succeeded by The Viscount Gort
Political offices
Preceded by Frederick Peel	Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1852	Succeeded by Frederick Peel
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by John Cuffe	Earl of Desart 1832–1865	Succeeded by William Cuffe