Overview

The Earls of Clancarty from Garbally, County Galway, span nine generations in a line from Ireland to London over 220 years. Their origins are intriguing: Gaelic kings, William the Conqueror and a Huguenot exile. In their own ways they all lived life to the full, sometimes exalted, other times humbled – Billy the militia colonel who faced death at the hands of French invaders, Richard the ambassador diplomat who helped negotiate the new Europe after Napoleon but forgot his place, offended the King of the Netherlands and lost his job; William the kindly landlord who cared for his people but could never back away from his staunch prejudices; Richard the autocrat who disinherited his son and heir; Freddie the profligate whose love for a beautiful showgirl cost him dearly; Killy the recluse who drank too much; Greville the shrewd property dealer who unlocked a fortune; Brinsley the reformed Nazi sympathiser who had afternoon tea with Adolf Hitler and later became a world authority on UFOs, and Nick the artist-socialist with radical views on reforming the House of Lords.

Much less is known about the earls’ wives, but they include the 2nd Countess Harriette diligent and unfeigned, over-anxious Sarah; angry Adeliza; beautiful and loyal Belle; hard-working Mary; lonely “kitten” Edith; quiet, long-suffering Cora, and friendly extrovert Betty.

The Clancarty story goes back to the first Trench exile from France to England in the late 1500s, followed by 200 years of empire building in Ireland.  As servants of royalty the first Earls rode the crest of Protestant power on their 26,000-acre estate in Ireland. Their descendants, however, couldn’t adapt to the changes overtaking their world. Opportunities were lost and resources squandered. Eventually the family found a more comfortable place, but with less influence, in England, and now the Earldom faces extinction. It is tempting to ask what might have been. Did the story have to end this way?

Garbally House, former home of the Trench family