John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo

John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo (circa 1705 – 1790) was an Irish politician and peer.

He was the son of Rickard Bourke and Catherine Minchin. He was descended from Gaelic nobles, and shared a common ancestor with Tibbot ne Long Bourke, 1st Viscount Mayo. In 1727 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Naas, representing the seat in the Irish House of Commons until 1760. Between 1761 and 1768 he served as MP for Old Leighlin. He was re-elected for Naas in 1768, and held the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1776. That year was created Baron Naas, of Naas in the County of Kildare, in the Peerage of Ireland.^[1] He assumed his seat in the Irish House of Lords, and on 13 January 1781 he was made Viscount Mayo, a title which had previously been held by his distant relations. On 24 June 1785 Bourke was made Earl of Mayo.^[2]

Bourke married Mary Deane, daughter of Joseph Deane and Margaret Boyle, in 1726.^[3] Together they had three children. The Naas constituency was also represented by Bourke's son and grandson, the second and fourth earls.

References

1. William Courthorpe, Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, p.566. (Retrieved 19 February 2016).
2. William Courthorpe, Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, p.566. (Retrieved 19 February 2016).
3. William Courthorpe, Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, p.566. (Retrieved 19 February 2016).