View source for Maurice Mahon, 1st Baron Hartland

{{Short description|Irish politician and landowner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=January 2020}}
'''Maurice Mahon, 1st Baron Hartland''' (21 June 1738 – 4 January 1819), was an Irish politician and landowner. He and his sons intermittently represented [[County Roscommon]] in the [[Parliament of Ireland]] and the [[United Kingdom Parliament]]. He was able to transform his support of the [[Acts of Union 1800|Union]] of Great Britain and Ireland into a peerage, but was frustrated in his subsequent desire to become a viscount.
Mahon was the son of [[Thomas Mahon (Irish MP)|Thomas Mahon]] and Hon. Jane, daughter of [[Maurice Crosbie, 1st Baron Brandon]], and Lady Elizabeth Fitzmaurice. He was born in [[Strokestown]]. On 17 June 1765, he married Hon. Catherine (died March 1834), daughter of [[Stephen Moore, 1st Viscount Mount Cashell]] and Alicia Colville. They had three sons: [[Thomas Mahon, 2nd Baron Hartland|Thomas]] (1766–1835), [[Stephen Mahon|Stephen]] (1768–1828), and [[Maurice Mahon, 3rd Baron Hartland|Maurice]] (1772–1845).<ref name="burke">{{cite book | first=Bernard | last=Burke | authorlink=Bernard Burke | title=A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland | publisher=Harrison & Sons | year=1899 | page=292 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ha0EAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA292}}</ref>
Maurice's father Thomas died in 1782, and Maurice succeeded to the family's [[Strokestown]] estate. The Mahons were one of several important electoral interests in [[Roscommon]], and Maurice was able to succeed his father as one of the representatives for [[County Roscommon (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|County Roscommon]] in the Irish Parliament. However, he lost the seat to [[Arthur French (politician)|Arthur French]], of French Park, in 1783.<ref name="roscommon">{{HistoryofParliament|1790|first=P. J. | last=Jupp|title=Co. Roscommon|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/constituencies/county-roscommon}}</ref>
Mahon was eager to be created a peer, and the widespread bribery preceding the [[Acts of Union 1800|Union]] provided him with an opportunity. When [[George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston|Viscount Kingsborough]] succeeded his father as [[Earl of Kingston]] in 1799 and triggered a by-election for County Roscommon, Mahon saw an opportunity. The King family's preferred candidate, [[Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton|Hon. Robert King]], opposed the Union, and Mahon got the support of the administration by promising them a pro-Union vote. With their help, Mahon won the support of the Catholic and independent interests of the county for his eldest son Thomas, who had recently [[Battle of Carlow|defended Carlow]] during the [[Rebellion of 1798]]. King ultimately stood down before the poll, and Thomas took the Roscommon seat.<ref name="roscommon" /> However, the Roscommon electors were implacably anti-Union, and Thomas absented himself from Parliament rather than vote for or against the Union. Maurice was forced to buy a seat at [[Knocktopher (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Knocktopher]] for his younger son [[Stephen Mahon|Stephen]] to carry out his obligations to the administration.<ref>{{cite book | first=Peter | last=Duffy | title=The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland | url=https://archive.org/details/killingofmajorde0000duff | url-access=registration |publisher=Harper Collins | year=2008 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/killingofmajorde0000duff/page/23 23]–24| isbn=9780060840501 }}</ref>
The stratagem worked: Stephen voted for the Union, and on 30 July 1800, Maurice was raised to the [[Peerage of Ireland]] as '''Baron Hartland''', of [[Strokestown]] in the County of Roscommon,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15281 |date=2 August 1800 |page=890 }}</ref> as a reward for his support. The administration still wished to conciliate the powerful King family, and without their support, Thomas did not stand for Roscommon in the [[1802 United Kingdom general election|1802 election]]. In the [[1806 United Kingdom general election|1806 election]], Hartland put forth his younger son Stephen for Roscommon, at a cost of £1,696 18s. in election expenses; he made a strong showing and the Kings conceded without a poll, to the administration's displeasure.<ref name="roscommon" /> Stephen continued to support government on Hartland's instructions, his object being to secure a further promotion to a [[viscount]] in the Irish peerage. He was not successful in this, although Stephen did not go into opposition until shortly after his father's death.<ref>{{HistoryofParliament|1790|first=P. J.|last=Jupp|title=Mahon, Hon. Stephen (1768-1828), of Strokestown, co. Roscommon.|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/mahon-hon-stephen-1768-1828}}</ref> Hartland died on 4 January 1819, aged 80, and was succeeded in the barony by his son, [[Thomas Mahon, 2nd Baron Hartland|Thomas]].<ref name="burke" />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|ie}}
{{s-bef| before = [[Thomas Mahon (Irish MP)|Thomas Mahon]] <br/> [[Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet|Edward Crofton]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[County Roscommon (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|County Roscommon]]
| with   = [[Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet|Edward Crofton]]
| years  = 1782–1783}}
{{s-aft| after  = [[Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet|Edward Crofton]] <br/> [[Arthur French (politician)|Arthur French]] }}
{{s-reg|ie}}
{{s-new | creation}}
{{s-ttl
| title  = [[Baron Hartland]]
| years  = 1800–1819
}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Thomas Mahon, 2nd Baron Hartland|Thomas Mahon]] }}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartland, Maurice Mahon, 1st Baron}}
[[Category:1738 births]]
[[Category:1819 deaths]]
[[Category:Barons in the Peerage of Ireland]]
[[Category:Peers of Ireland created by George III]]
[[Category:Irish MPs 1776–1783]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies]]
[[Category:People from Strokestown]]