Sir George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard

Forbes, Sir George, 6th Earl of Granard, great-grandson of preceding, was born 14th June 1768, and succeeded his father in April 1780. He was educated at Armagh, and entered the army at an early age. He commanded the Longford Militia at Castlebar in 1798, during the French invasion of Connaught, and took part in the battle of Ballinamuck. He was a steadfast adherent of the Irish liberal party, and as he had supported Charlemont, Grattan, and Curran in early life, so in 1799-1800 he stood firm with his brothers-in-law, Lords Moira, Kingston, and Mountcashel, against the Union, and was one of those that signed the Peers' protest against the measure. For some years afterwards he took little part in politics, and devoted himself to his estates; but in 1806 he accepted the post of Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, and was created a peer of Great Britain. He supported Catholic Emancipation and Reform, and declined the Ribbon of St. Patrick. The latter part of his life was spent principally in France. He died in Paris in 1837, aged 69, and was buried with his ancestors at Newtownforbes. The present Earl (1877) is his grandson.

Sources

153. Granard, Earls of, Memoirs: Edited by the Earl of Granard. London, 1868.