In a long life (1773–1853), Valentine Lawless, later second Baron Cloncurry, journeyed from radical United Irishman to liberal political grandee. Eclipsed during his lifetime – and since – by giants of Irish history such as Theobald Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet and Daniel O'Connell, Karina Holton's timely and scholarly study of Lawless's eventful life addresses a deficit and considers a political figure who, despite lacking the leadership and charisma of some of his contemporaries, ‘deserves a prominent place in the pantheon of significant political figures of nineteenth century Ireland’ (p. 288).
Lawless was born in Dublin in 1773, the son of a wealthy and aspirational businessman, Nicholas (later first Lord Cloncurry), who had converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism in 1770, accelerating his progression in Irish society and allowing him to purchase land in Limerick and Kildare (Lyons estate), along with a townhouse in Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, and a seaside home in Blackrock, providing the Lawlesses with the trappings of an eminent landed Protestant family.
After a conventional education, Lawless matriculated in Trinity College in 1789. Admitted to the Middle Temple in 1794, he travelled regularly between London and Dublin. He was drawn into the United Irishmen and was acquainted with its leading figures. Holton's account of his involvement with Arthur O'Connor's newspaper, The Press, and his membership of the Leinster executive of the United Irishmen reveals his leading role in nascent republicanism. Sent to London by his father for his own good in late 1797, Lawless cultivated links with English radicals such as Francis Burdett and Edward Despard. Whilst there, he was detained twice (in 1798 and 1799) for treasonable practices and was committed to the Tower of London following his second arrest. Holton's discussion of Lawless's United Irish activity is compelling and her mastery of the primary sources is just one of the many commendable features of this book.
Released in 1801, Lawless, now Lord Cloncurry following the death of his father during his incarceration, was one of the few senior United Irish figures permitted to return to Ireland. Embittered by his treatment, he travelled, first to Paris (where he met with both Bonaparte and Robert Emmet) and then to Rome, where he sought out Henry Stuart, the Cardinal Duke of York and heir to the Jacobite crown. On his travels Cloncurry met and married Elizabeth Georgiana Morgan, who would later make him a cuckold. Setbacks in his personal and political affairs sent Cloncurry into bouts of depression and, while the author addresses this aspect of his life, there is scope for a fuller biography to emerge, expanding on his family relationships, the tragic personal losses he endured, and the development of his Lyons estate.
Cloncurry's political rehabilitation, which included establishing petty sessions, his support for public education and his espousal of land reclamation and canal-building schemes, is detailed minutely. The account of his regular political jousting with chief secretary, Robert Peel, makes for excellent reading and again the use of source material is impressive. While sympathetic to Daniel O'Connell's campaign for Catholic Emancipation, Cloncurry argued that repeal was a loftier objective and was critical of O'Connell's denominational politics. The troubled relationship between the two men is another fascinating aspect of Holton's analysis. Cloncurry's friendship with Lord Anglesey, twice appointed lord lieutenant, is also detailed expertly and the former's influence was such that one cynical observer (p. 221) noted that Anglesey's recall in 1833 meant that ‘Lord Cloncurry will be no longer Lord Lieutenant.’
Despite his radical past, Cloncurry was appointed a privy councillor and elevated to the peerage on the accession of William IV, prompting Lord Darnley (p. 223) to comment how this privilege had been given to ‘that rebelly, rascally blanket merchant all because he and milady kissed the marchioness’ behind’. Cloncurry's last public role was that of a benevolent landlord during the Famine years, expressing his horror (p. 264) at ‘the wretched state to which bad government and bad men have reduced us’. Cloncurry died in his eighty-first year. From radical to liberal peer, he had been a constant critic, social improver and political visionary.
This accomplished biography will be of immense benefit for those with a scholarly interest in this period. For others, a more detailed index, especially a thematic entry for Lawless/Cloncurry, would be useful. Nonetheless, Holton is convincing throughout in her analysis that while Cloncurry's achievements were limited, his ability to rise above confessional politics deserves historical acknowledgement. This book is to be recommended for bringing its subject into focus and is a most welcome addition to the historiography of the period.
