Viscount Fitz William

Viscount Fitz William

Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. In 1661 he was created Earl of Tyrconnell in the Peerage of Ireland. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1667 while he was succeeded in the barony and viscountcy by William FitzWilliam, the third Viscount. The fifth Viscount represented Fowey in the British Parliament. The sixth Viscount was a member of both the Irish and English Privy Councils. The seventh Viscount was a benefactor and musical antiquarian. The titles became extinct on the death of the ninth Viscount in 1833.

The family seat was Mount Merrion House, County Dublin: they also owned Baggotrath Castle and Merrion Castle, both of which have long since disappeared. The Viscounts FitzWilliams had no direct relationship with the Earls FitzWilliam. They are recorded in Ireland from the beginning of the thirteenth century, and through acquisition of large estates in Dublin, became within a few generations one of its dominant families.