Clancarty: the high times and humble of a noble Irish family by Rod Smith will publish with Eyeglass Press Ltd September 8th. Clancarty is ‘not only a family chronicle; it’s a microcosm of Irish history, exploring themes of power, adaptation, and the changing face of aristocracy in the modern world.’ Rod has kindly provided us all with a short introduction to each chapter from the book so I hope you enjoy.
The launch of Clancarty; the high times and humble of a noble Irish family will take place in Ballinasloe Library on Saturday, October 19, at 2.30pm, hosted by the Ballinasloe and District Heritage Society.
[ About Clancarty ]
Spanning nine generations and 220 years, Clancarty unveils the fascinating history of the Earls of Clancarty, from their life at Garbally House, County Galway, to their eventual retreat to England. This meticulously researched account brings to life the triumphs, scandals, and struggles of the Irish Ascendancy Trench family.
Meet an array of captivating characters:
– Billy the colonel who faced death at the hands of French invaders
– Richard, the diplomat whose misstep with the King of the Netherlands cost him his ambassadorship
– William, the kindly landlord juggling care for his tenants and ingrained prejudices
– Richard the autocrat who disinherited his son and heir
– Freddie, whose passion for a beautiful showgirl cost him dearly
– Killy the recluse who drank too much
– Greville, the shrewd property dealer who accumulated a tidy pile
– Brinsley, the reformed Nazi sympathizer who had tea with Adolf Hitler and later became a world authority on UFOs
– Nick, the artist-socialist with radical ideas for reforming the House of Lords
The lives of the Countesses, though less documented, provide a compelling counterpoint: From the diligent Harriet and the beautiful Belle to the angry Adeliza, long-suffering Cora and the extroverted Betty, these women played crucial roles in shaping the family’s destiny.
Tracing their lineage to Frederic de la Tranche, a Huguenot exile in the late 1500s, the Trenches built an empire in Ireland over two centuries. As servants of the Establishment, they were rewarded with peerages and lucrative appointments. However, their descendants were unable to adapt to Ireland’s changing landscape in the late 19th century, opportunities were missed and resources squandered.
From research in family memoirs, correspondence, archives and historical writings Clancarty offers an intimate look at the rise and decline of an aristocratic dynasty. As the family retreated to a quieter but less influential life in England, one question lingers: Was this fate inevitable, or could history have unfolded differently?
Clancarty is not only a family chronicle; it’s a microcosm of Irish history, exploring themes of power, adaptation, and the changing face of aristocracy in the modern world.
[ Opening Paragraph from each of the Ten chapters ]
Origins
The Clancarty story rests on a family belief that they descend from a Huguenot exile – Frederic de la Tranche – who left France in about 1575; and his son and grandson who went to Ireland in the early 1600s. A fresh look, however, suggests that the connection may be no longer credible.
1st Earl
William Power Keating Trench – Billy to his friends, Willy to relatives – had a great deal of ascribed authority – landowner, Member of Parliament, military commander and holder of peerage titles, but with all those stripped away he was something of a lightweight preoccupied with status. He matured quickly however on a wintry December morning in Bantry in December 1796 when he looked out into the bay and saw 17 French warships with hundreds of soldiers ready to destroy him and his world. William grew closer to the English governors of Ireland later in his life and was rewarded accordingly, though he enjoyed his earldom for just two years – from 1803 until his death aged 64 in 1805.
2nd Earl
Richard Power Le Poer Trench was the Earl of Clancarty for 32 years, 1805 to 1837. He was by far the most eminent member in the family story and played a small but crucial part in European history in 1813-15. An ally of two of England’s greatest statesmen, Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington, he was not in their league (and he would be the first to acknowledge that) but he was loyal, helpful, conscientious, and at his best a skilled and successful negotiator and administrator. Castlereagh admire his talents. As Britain’s ambassador to The Netherlands, he was a key figure for a decade, but eventually however, he forgot his place and his bossy temper offended the King and cost him his job. He withdrew to the comfort of his prejudices and his world in Galway where he was answerable to nobody, grew out of touch with the changes occurring around him, and was eventually deserted, blustering alone in the House of Lords while his peers went to dinner.
3rd Earl
William Thomas Le Poer Trench the Earl of Clancarty for 35 years from 1837 to 1872, had a hard act to follow. His father Richard was a diplomat and politician of great stature, and his uncles Archbishop Power, Archdeacon Charles, and Admiral William were renowned protagonists for the family’s Protestant landlord values. There was more than just one big pair of shoes to fill. William did them proud though, and was arguably the Earl who made the biggest contribution to the family in Ireland, though he has not attracted the same attention as his father and the fifth and eighth Earls. He was a constructive and sympathetic estate owner, and in public life he spoke regularly in the House of Lords – albeit with great stubbornness – on the big issues of his day – land ownership, social policy, religion, education, the waning power of the Church of Ireland. He bemoaned the plight of his class as England’s leaders sidelined him and his kind, and followed their own agenda. Sadly, but perhaps predictably he could only loudly repeat the beliefs with which he grew up, blinkered and impervious to the changes steadily eroding his world.
4th Earl
Richard Somerset Le Poer Trench was the Earl of Clancarty from 1872 to 1891, 19 years. Born in 1834 he grew up in an era when the Trenches like other landed families held power and privilege in Ireland, but in his lifetime, he saw that power steadily evaporate, his kind despised, and his position attacked. His health gave way in his 50s and buckled finally after the fight he and his wife had with their son and heir Fred over his secret marriage to the beautiful show-girl Belle Bilton. Liked by many of his tenants, nonetheless the fourth Earl gave up on Ireland, and goes down in history as a heartless autocrat.
5th Earl
William Frederick Le Poer Trench was the Earl of Clancarty from 1891 to 1929, 38 years, and the final Trench occupier of the Garbally estate. Known as Fred, he was the most colourful of all the Earls and regularly in the public domain for much of his life – for all the wrong reasons. Fred’s great-grandfather and grandfather made significant contributions to public life in Ireland and England. His father was willing but unable. Fred was neither willing nor able. Fulfilling his personal wishes was the only thing that mattered, and if that meant using other people’s money or not telling the full story so be it: he could try and repair the damage later. He wasted money on gambling and high living, and insisted on an aristocratic lifestyle, assuming his parents or the family estate would always pay the bills, blithely ignoring control or discipline. Debts and bankruptcy made no difference and eventually his disregard for the strictures placed on him resulted in a prison sentence. To balance the ledger Frederick was a caring landlord, and when it finally counted he stood up for the wife he loved but had woefully mistreated and defied his father even at the cost of being financially abandoned.
6th Earl
Richard Frederick John Donough Le Poer Trench was the Earl of Clancarty from 1929 to 1971, 42 years, the longest of those who held the title. He was the least visible of his line, and his story the saddest. By temperament modest, musical, and low in the characteristic Trench self-esteem he was hit hard by some of the events he had to deal with in his life and withdrew into a recluse’s shell.
7th Earl
Greville Sydney Rochfort Le Poer Trench was the 7th Earl of Clancarty, from 1971 to 1975 – four short years, but enough time to restore some substance to the title. Born in December 1902 he was the youngest of William and Belle’s five children, and the last of the family to be born at Garbally. He and his wife had a wealthy lifestyle, and the means to support it, but what isn’t clear is just where their wealth came from. Did he unlock the family assets?
8th Earl
It is easy to mis-judge William Francis Brinsley Le Poer Trench the Earl of Clancarty for 20 years from 1975 to 1995, well within the living memory of many readers. His early sympathy for Adolf Hitler and Nazism before the Second World War, and his enthusiastic beliefs about flying saucers and aliens living in the centre of the earth would see him quickly dismissed as deluded if not a total crank. To do that, however, is to miss the achievements of his remarkable life.
9th Earl
Nicholas Power Richard Le Poer Trench has been the Earl of Clancarty since he succeeded his uncle Brinsley in May 1995, and as things stand at time of writing he will be the last to hold the title. Be that as it may, Nick is not going quietly. Modest he may be but he is a regular and forthright speaker in the House of Lords and if the issue is about arts or Europe or those on society’s margins he will be on his feet sooner or later. His forebears would be horrified that an artist with left wing views carries the title of Clancarty but unlike some of his predecessors he is very much in tune with his times and not bound by doctrines of the past.
Clancarty: the high times and humble of a noble Irish family – Purchase Link
[ Bio ]
Rod Smith, might arguably have a mild case of graphomania, or scribomania, an obsessive urge to write, formally identified by French psychiatrist Dr Jean-Etienne Esquirol in the early 1800s. As a schoolboy watching sports fixtures Rod used to record scores and results and on one occasion came home from watching rugby at Athletic Park and set about typing a report on the game which was read by nobody but himself!
Fortunately, the condition has remained a mild variant and has been channelled into various writing tasks in his career in journalism and several departments of Government service, and then into researching and writing his first book “Guinness Down Under”.
Clancarty: The high times and humble of a noble Irish family will publish in September 2024.
Read more at: https://eyeglasspress.com/about-the-book/the-author-of-guinness-downunder
