Sir Valentine Browne, 3rd Viscount Kenmare

Sir Valentine Browne, 3rd Viscount Kenmare

Sir Valentine Browne, 5th Baronet, 3rd Viscount Kenmare (born March 1695 - died 30 June 1736) was the son of Sir Nicholas Browne, 2nd Viscount Kenmare, and his wife, Helen. After the death of his father in 1720, he succeeded to the family estates which had been under the management of John Asgill because his grandfather Sir Valentine Browne was a supporter of the Jacobite cause who took part in the Battle of Aughrim. For this he was attainted and the family estates forfeited.

The inheritance to which he succeeded was deep in debt due to mismanagement by Asgill. The difficulty experienced in meeting the heavy encumbrances on the impoverished estate fostered disputes in the family and drove close relatives into law with each other, much of which was both protracted and costly. It is possible that this financial difficulty caused him to refuse the requests of the poet Aodhagán Ó Rathaille to restore his land to him. This refusal caused Ó Rathaille to compose a bitter and mournful poem in which he launches a vitriolic attack on Browne. In later years however, the estate gained a sound financial position after portions of it were sold.