James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon


Birth and origin

James was born about 1605 in Ireland, the eldest son of Robert Dillon and his first wife Margaret Barry. His father was the 2nd Earl of Roscommon. His family was Old English and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185. His family held substantial lands in Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon. James's mother was a daughter of David de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant. Her family, the de Barry family is another Old English family.


James was one of five brothers including two half-brothers, one from each of the two other marriages of his father.
Nothing seems to be known about his sisters.

Early life

His father's family were traditionally Roman Catholic, which is why his father, despite his record of loyalty to the Crown, was never fully trusted by King Charles I of England, but James was converted to the Church of Ireland by James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh.
On 24 January 1620 his grandfather was raised to the peerage with the title of Baron Dillon of Kilkenny-West, in the Peerage of Ireland. in a ceremony performed by the Lord Deputy Oliver St. John in the Presence Chamber of Dublin Castle on 25 January.
On 5 August 1622 James's grandfather was further honoured by being created Earl of Roscommon. In consequence of this advancement, Robert, the heir apparent, James's father, was styled Lord Kilkenny-West, as a courtesy title.

Marriage and children

James Dillon married Elizabeth Wentworth, daughter of Sir William Wentworth and Anne Atkins at some unknown time probably in the late 1620s. She was a sister of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the formidable and, all-powerful Lord Deputy of Ireland. James's father was a staunch supporter and a personal friend of Strafford, and the marriage was clearly intended to strengthen English rule in Ireland through family alliances between leading English and Anglo-Irish families. They had a son:
In 1639 James Dillon was elected Member of Parliament for County Longford in the Parliament of Ireland.
In March 1641 James's grandfather died and his father succeeded as the 2nd Earl. His tenure was, however, a short one as he died on 27 August 1642 in Oxmantown, a quarter in Dublin's Northside James succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Roscommon. He had to abandon his seat in the lower house and gained a seat in the House of Lords.
He died at Limerick in October 1649, at the house of Bishop Bramhall, of an accidental fall down a flight of stairs. According to legend his son, then in exile at Caen, knew of his death at the moment it happened, although the official news of the death did not reach him until two weeks later.