Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet

Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet (c.1643-1691) was the last of the Talbot baronets of Carton: his title was forfeited on account of his loyalty to King James II of England. He was an Irish politician and judge, who served briefly as Master of the Rolls in Ireland.[1]

He was born about 1643, the only son of Sir Robert Talbot, 2nd Baronet of Carton, and Grace Calvert, daughter of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore.[2] His father was the eldest of eight brothers, of whom the most eminent were Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and Peter Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin. All three brothers served the Stuart dynasty with notable loyalty during the English Civil War and the Interregnum, and William seems to have inherited his father's loyalty to the Stuarts.

He was called to the Bar, succeeded to his father's title in 1670, and for a time acted as Secretary to the Province of Maryland,[3] presumably at the wish of his maternal uncle, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, who was Proprietor of Maryland.

The Talbot and Calvert families were devoutly Roman Catholic; William's uncle Archbishop Talbot died in prison in 1680, a victim of the fabricated Popish Plot.[4] Perhaps inspired by his uncle's example Sir William in 1682 made a public plea for religious toleration of Catholics.[5] His open Catholic beliefs, combined with the influence of his uncle Lord Tyrconnell who, as Lord Deputy of Ireland, became for a short time almost all-powerful in Ireland, gained him preferment during the reign of the ardently Catholic King James II. He became a Commissioner of the Revenue in 1682, a member of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1687 and Master of the Rolls in 1689. He sat in the Patriot Parliament of 1689 as member for Meath.[6]

After the downfall of James II Talbot was attainted and his lands and title were subsequently forfeited under the Williamite Settlement. He died at Galway in May 1691.[7]

He married in 1683 Anne, widow of Lucas, 6th Viscount Dillon, and daughter of Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath; she died in 1710.[8] They had no children.

References
  1. Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926 Vol.1 p.365
  2. Mosley, ed. Burke's Peerage 107th Edition Delaware 2003 Vol. 3 p.3854
  3. Ball p.365
  4. Kenyon, J. P. The Popish Plot Phoenix Press reissue 2000 p.243
  5. Ball p.365
  6. Ball p.365
  7. Burke's Peerage p.3854
  8. Burke's Peerage p.3854
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