Tyrone, Earls Of
TYRONE, EARLS OF. The earldom of Tyrone was first conferred by Henry VIII. in 1542 on Conn Bacach O'Neill, and was forfeited in 1614 when an act of attainder was passed against his grandson Hugh, 2nd earl (more strictly 3rd earl, for his brother Brien was for some years de jure holder of the title though never recognized as such), the famous rebel who fled from Ireland with the earl of Tyrconnell in 1607 (see O'NEILL). Descendants of the 1st earl in Spain continued to style themselves earls of Tyrone till the death early in the 18th century of Owen O'Neill, grandson of Owen Roe O'Neill. In 1673 Richard Power, 6th Baron Le Power and Coroghmore, governor of Waterford, was created viscount of Decies and earl of Tyrone, being succeeded in these titles by his two sons successively, on the death of the younger of whom in 1704 they became extinct. A daughter of this last earl married Sir Marcus Beresford, Bart., of Coleraine, Co. Derry, in 1717; and in 1720 Beresford was created Baron Beresford and Viscount of Tyrone. In 1746 he was further created earl of Tyrone, and after his death in 1763 his widow became in 1767 Baroness La Poer in her own right. The only surviving son of this marriage inherited the titles of both his parents, all of which were in the peerage of Ireland, and in 1786 he was created a peer of Great Britain as Baron Tyrone of Haverfordwest in the county of Pembroke; three years later he was created marquess of Waterford, with which dignity the earldom of Tyrone has remained conjoined.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
