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Edmund Pery, 1st Viscount Pery

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The Right Honourable
The Viscount Pery
portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Speaker of the Irish House of Commons
In office
1771–1785
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byJohn Ponsonby
Succeeded byJohn Foster
Personal details
Born8 April 1719
Died24 February 1806
NationalityIrish
Political partyPatriot[1]
Spouse(s)(1) Patricia Martin
(2) Hon. Elizabeth Vesey

Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery (8 April 1719 – 24 February 1806; middle name also spelt Sexten) was an Anglo-Irish politician who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons between 1771 and 1785.

Early life

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He was born in Limerick, into one of the city's most politically influential families, elder son of the Rev. Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigge. His maternal grandfather was William Twigg, Archdeacon of Limerick.

Political career

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A trained barrister,[2] Pery became a member of the Irish House of Commons for the Wicklow constituency in 1751.[2] On the dissolution of the house following the death of George II, Pery was elected for the constituency of Limerick City and served from 1761 until 1785, becoming Speaker of the House in 1771.[3] In 1783, he stood also for Dungannon, however chose to sit for Limerick City. He was considered one of the most powerful politicians in Ireland in his time, leading a faction which included his nephew the future Earl of Limerick and his relatives by marriage, the Hartstonges. Following his resignation, he was created Viscount Pery, of Newtown Pery, near the City of Limerick,[4] in the Peerage of Ireland, entitling him to a seat in the Irish House of Lords. As he had no male heirs, his title became extinct on his death.[5]

Role in the development of Limerick

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Pery is also noted for his part in the history of the architecture of Limerick. In 1765, he commissioned the engineer Davis Ducart to design a town plan for land that Pery owned on the southern edge of the existing city,[6] which led to the construction of the Georgian area of the city later known as Newtown Pery. He was also commemorated in the naming of Pery Square.[3]

Family

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Pery married Patricia Patty) Martin of Dublin in 1756, who died a year later, and secondly Elizabeth Vesey, daughter of John Vesey, 1st Baron Knapton and Elizabeth Brownlow. He and Elizabeth had two daughters:

Pery's younger brother, William, was a leading figure in the Church of Ireland, becoming Bishop of Killala and subsequently Bishop of Limerick; he was also ennobled as Baron Glentworth. William's son, Edmund, was made Earl of Limerick in 1803 as a result of his support for the Act of Union. Pery's younger sister was Lucy Hartstonge, the founder of what is now St John's Hospital.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ p. 88
  2. ^ a b John Lodge, Mervyn Archdall (1789). The Peerage of Ireland. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b Gerry Joyce (1995). Limerick City Street Names. Limerick Corporation. p. 45. ISBN 0-905700-07-4.
  4. ^ "No. 12716". The London Gazette. 10 January 1786. p. 13.
  5. ^ John Debrett (1829). Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. p. 779.
  6. ^ An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of Limerick City. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage – Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7557-7441-8.
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Wicklow
1751–1761
With: James Whitshed 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Limerick City
1761–1785
With: Hugh Dillon Massy 1761
Charles Smyth 1761–1776
Thomas Smyth 1776–1785 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dungannon
1783
With: Hon. Thomas Knox 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Irish House of Commons
1771–1785 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Viscount Pery
1785–1806 		Extinct
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