William Nugent Macnamara

William Nugent Macnamara or M'Namara (c.1776 – 11 November 1856) was an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament.

He was the eldest son of Irish MP Francis Macnamara of Doolin and was educated at a Dublin seminary. He entered the local militia as a captain of grenadiers, later gaining promotion to major. He was appointed High Sheriff of Clare for 1798–99, successfully keeping order during the Irish rebellion, and succeeded his father in 1815 as landlord of Doolin. He later acquired Ennistymon House by marriage into the Finucane family.

He travelled about, including to the continent, between 1814 and 1816. When in Dublin in 1815 he acted as second to Daniel O'Connell (the Liberator) in his famous duel with John D'Esterre in which O'Connell fatally wounded D'Esterre. In 1830 he was elected MP for Clare to take the place of O'Connell, who sat instead for Waterford. He was then re-elected in 1831, 1832 and 1847, retiring in 1852.

He died in 1856 and was buried in the family vault at Doolin. He had married Susannah, daughter and coheiress of Matthias Finucane of Lifford and Ann O'Brien, with whom he had a son, Francis and four daughters. He was succeeded by Francis, an Army officer who had been an MP for Ennis. Among his descendants was Caitlin Thomas, the author and wife of the poet Dylan Thomas.

He was described by a contemporary as "a Protestant in religion, a Catholic in politics, and a Milesian in descent".[1]

Ennistymon House, which passed to William through marriage

References
  1. "Ennistymon-Ennistymon Castle and House and The Falls Hotel". Clare County Library. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Daniel O'Connell
Lucius O'Brien		 Member of Parliament for Clare
1830 – 1852
With: James Patrick Mahon 1830–31
Maurice O'Connell 1831–32
Cornelius O'Brien 1832–47
Sir Lucius O'Brien 1847–52		 Succeeded by
Sir John Forster FitzGerald
Cornelius O'Brien
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.