Baron Esmonde


Baron Esmonde was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 20 May 1632 for Sir Laurence Esmonde. He had earlier renounced the Roman Catholic faith. However, he married a Roman Catholic wife of the O'Flaherty family, by whom he had a son, Thomas. Fearing that her son would be raised a Protestant, Esmonde's wife ran away with their son and brought him up a strict Roman Catholic. In 1629, three years before his father's elevation to the peerage, Thomas was created a baronet, of Ballynastragh in the County of Wexford. However, as he was the child of a mixed marriage, he was not allowed to succeed in the barony, which became extinct on Lord Esmonde's death in 1646. The Esmonde Baronetcy is still extant, however.

Barons Esmond (1632)