Barry Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham
Barry Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham (1723–1800), was an Irish nobleman and politician. He was the son of John Maxwell, 1st Baron Farnham, and Judith Barry, and was styled The Honourable Barry Maxwell from 1756 to 1779. He trained in law, serving as Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas from 1741 to 1800, was called to the Irish Bar in 1748, and became a Bencher in 1757. In Parliament, he represented Cavan Borough (1756–60 and 1768–79) and Armagh Borough (1761–68).
In 1779, after his brother’s death, he became the 3rd Baron Farnham and inherited the Farnham estate. He was later elevated to Viscount Farnham in 1781 and to Earl of Farnham in 1785. He was made a Privy Councillor in Ireland in 1796. He commissioned the architect James Wyatt to design a new Farnham house; the plans are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
He married twice. First, in 1757, to Margaret King, daughter of Robert King of Drewstown; they had several children, including John James Maxwell, who became the 2nd Earl of Farnham. He married secondly in 1771 to Grace Burdett, daughter of Arthur Burdett of Ballymaney, with whom he had more children. Barry Maxwell died on 7 October 1800 and was succeeded by his son John James Maxwell as the 2nd Earl of Farnham.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:21 (CET).