Christopher Plunket, 2nd Earl of Fingall

Christopher was probably born in the late 1610s in County Meath, Ireland.{{Efn|name=DoB|His birth date is constrained by his parents' marriage in 1611 and his mother's death in 1623. However, the special livery of his estates at his father's death in 1637{{Sfn|Dunlop|1896|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati45stepuoft/page/440/ 440, right column, line 6]|ps=. "His father died in 1637, and on 20 March that year Plunket received special livery of his estates"}} indicates that he was not far from coming off age at that time.}} He was the eldest son of Lucas Plunket and his second wife Susanna Brabazon. His father was then the 10th Baron Killeen (since 1613) and would on 26 September 1628 be created Earl of Fingall.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/805/ 805, left column, line 24]|ps=. "... was created Earl of Fingall, 26 Sept. 1628 ..."}} His father's family is believed to be of Norman origin and is attested in Ireland from the 11th century onwards.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/804/ 804, right column, line 17]|ps=. "This noble family is of Danish origin, but its settlement in Ireland is so remote that nothing certain can be ascertained as to the precise period. So early as the 11th century we find John Plunkett was seated at Beaulieu, or Bewley, Meath ..."}}

His mother was the fifth daughter of Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee and his wife Mary Smythe. Her grandfather had come from England to Ireland as vice-treasurer of Ireland and had been Lord Justice of Ireland.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1378/ 1378, right column]|ps=. "Sir William Brabazon, Knt., who was appointed, in 1534, vice-treasurer ..."}} His parents had married in 1611.{{Sfn|Cokayne|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/completepeerage03cokahrish/page/n354/ 353]|ps=. "He m. [married] secondly (articles dat. 9 June 1611) Susanna, sister of William, 1st Earl of Meath, da. [daughter] of Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Ardee [I. [Ireland]] ..."}}

{{Chart top|width=auto|collapsed=no|align=right|clear=right|Family tree}}

{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both; font-size: 90%; width: 35em;}}

{{Tree chart|Txt|Txt=Christopher Plunkett with his wife, parents, and other selected relatives.{{Efn|This family tree is derived from two published trees,{{Sfn|Dunboyne|1968|pp=[https://archive.org/details/butlerfamilyhist00dunb/page/16 16–17]|ps=. "Butler Family Tree condensed"}}{{Sfn|Mountmorres|1792|p=[https://archive.org/details/historyprincipa00soutgoog/page/n244/ 216]|ps=. Pedigree from Walter, 10th Earl, to John, 15th Earl, in note}} and classical genealogical sources.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1551/ 1551]|ps=. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormonde}}{{Sfn|Debrett|1828|p=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/page/n219/ 641–642]|ps=. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormonde}}{{Sfn|Cokayne|1895|p=[https://archive.org/details/completepeerage06cokahrish/page/n150/ 149–153]|ps=. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormonde}}{{Sfn|Cokayne|1926|p=[https://archive.org/details/CokayneG.E.TheCompletePeerageSecondEditionVolume5EAGO/page/n204/ 385–390]|ps=. "Genealogy of the earls of Fingall"}} Also see the list of children in the text.}}|boxstyle_Txt=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Tree chart/start}}

{{Tree chart|HryFG| |ChrPl| |EdwA1| | | | | |boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|HryFG=Henry
FitzGerald
12th Earl
Kildare
1562–1597

|ChrPl=Christopher
Plunket
9th Baron
Killeen
1564–1613

|EdwA1=Edward
1st Baron
Ardee
c.1548 – 1625

|CmM16=Cormac
MacDermot
16th Lord
1552–1616|boxstyle_CmM16=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: wheat;}}

{{Tree chart| |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | }}

{{Tree chart|ElzFG|~|LukF1|y|SusBz| |NcsB1|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|ElzFG=Elizabeth
FitzGerald

|LukF1=Luke
1st Earl
d. 1637|boxstyle_LukF1=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|SusBz=Susanna
Brabazon
d. 1623

|NcsB1=Nicholas
Barnewall
1st Viscount
1592–1663|boxstyle_NcsB1=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lightcyan;}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | | |,|'| | |,|-|-|'}}

{{Tree chart| |RchKc| |Sbjct|y|MblBw| |DngC1|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|RchKc=Richard
of
Kilcash
1615–1701

|Sbjct=Christopher
2nd Earl
d. 1649|boxstyle_Sbjct=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|MblBw=Mabel
Barnewall

|DngC1=Donough
1st Earl
Clancarty
1594–1665|boxstyle_DngC1=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: wheat;}}

{{Tree chart| | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |!| }}

{{Tree chart| |WltGr|y|MryPl| |LukF3|y|MrgMC|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|LukF3=Luke
3rd Earl
1639–1684|boxstyle_LukF3=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;

|MrgMC=Margaret
MacCarty
d. 1704

|WltGr=Walter
of
Garryricken
d. 1700
d.v.p.*

|MryPl=Mary
Plunket}}

{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| }}

{{Tree chart| | | |ThmBt| | | | | |PtrF4|boxstyle=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em;

|ThmBt=Thomas
of
Garryricken
d. 1738
Colonel

|PtrF4=Peter
4th Earl
1678–1718|boxstyle_PtrF4=border-width: 1px; border-radius: 0.5em; background: lavender;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both;}}

{{Tree chart|Leg|Leg=Legend|boxstyle_Leg=border: 0 solid white;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both;}}

{{Tree chart|SbjBx|SbjTx| |Bk1Bx|Bk1Tx| |Bk2Bx|Bk2Tx| |Bk3Bx|Bk3Tx

|SbjBx=XXX|boxstyle_SbjBx=border: 2px solid red; border-radius: 0.5em; color: white;

|SbjTx=Subject of
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|Bk3Bx=XXX|boxstyle_Bk3Bx=background: lightcyan; border-radius: 0.5em; border-width: 1px; color: lightcyan;

|Bk3Tx=Viscounts
Barnewall|boxstyle_Bk3Tx=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Tree chart/start|style=clear: both; font-size: 85%; width: 35em;}}

{{Tree chart|Txt|Txt=*d.v.p. = predeceased his father (decessit vita patris).|boxstyle_Txt=border: 0 solid white; text-align: left;}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Chart_bottom}}

Christopher was the eldest of at least four brothers (but only Christopher and George are known):

• Christopher (died 1649)
• George, the fourth son, married Cicely, daughter of Sir William Hill, of Allenston, County Meath, was captain at the siege of Drogheda, and colonel of a regiment of foot in the Confederate army{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1551/ 805, left column, line 37]|ps=. "George, the 4th son, a capt. of foot at the siege of Drogheda in 1641, and afterwards col. in the rebel army. He m. [married] Cicely, dau. of Sir William Hill of Allenston, co. Meath ..."}}

Christopher's mother died in 1623. She had been a Protestant.{{Sfn|Ohlmeyer|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613946/page/626/ 626, right column, line 3]|ps=. "Christopher's mother, a Protestant, died in 1623."}} After her death, his father made sure that Christopher would be raised in the Catholic faith.

in January 1636 Killeen married{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/805/ 805, left column, line 59]|ps=. "He m. [married] in Jan. 1636 Mabel Barnewall, dau. [daughter] of Nicholas, 1st Viscount Kingsland"}} Mabel, daughter of Nicholas Barnewall, 1st viscount Kingsland and Lady Bridget FitzGerald. She would survive him by 50 yearsReily v Ward (1717) Brown's Law Reports Vol.1 p.575 and would, in 1653, remarry to Colonel James Barnewall, youngest son of Sir Patrick Barnewall.

{{Anchor|chldrn}}

Christopher and Mabel had five sons (of which the younger three are poorly known):

1. Luke (1639–1684), his heir, who recovered the estate and title in 1662.{{Sfn|Dunlop|1896|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati45stepuoft/page/440/ 440, right column, line 53]|ps=. "His eldest son and heir, Luke, third Earl of Fingall, was restored to his estates and honours by order of the Court of Claims in 1662"}}
2. Nicholas, married Anne Taaffe, daughter of Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford{{Sfn|Lodge|1789|p=[https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland06lodg/page/186 186, line ]|ps=. "(2) Nicholas who married Anne, daughter of Theobald Earl of Carlingford, and widow of Sir Joseph Throckmorten ..."}}
3. ____ (died 1664) buried at St. Catherine, 20 September
4. Patrick (died 1666), buried at St Michan's, 3 June
5. ____ of county Monaghan

—and a daughter:

• Mary, married Walter Butler of Garryricken, nephew of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde: they were the grandparents of John Butler, 15th Earl of Ormonde.{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1550/ 1550, left column, line 34]|ps=. "(1) Walter, who m. [married] Lady Mary Plunkett, dau. [daughter] of Christopher, 2nd Earl of Fingal ..."}}

In 1637 Killeen succeeded his father as the 2nd Earl of Fingall. On 20 March that year Lord Fingall received special livery of his estates.{{Sfn|Dunlop|1896|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati45stepuoft/page/440/ 440, right column, line 6]|ps=. "His father died in 1637, and on 20 March that year Plunket received special livery of his estates"}} he inherited great estates in County Meath and County Cavan, and played a part in developing the town of Virginia, County Cavan.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Lord Fingall took his seat in the House of Lords of the Irish Parliament on 16 March 1639, and was a member of several committees for privileges and grievances.

When the Rebellion broke out on 23 October 1641,{{Sfn|Warner|1768|p=[https://archive.org/details/historyrebellio00warngoog/page/n32/ 6]|ps=. "... the twenty-third October [1641] ... seized all the towns, castles, and houses belonging to the Protestants which they had force enough to possess;"}} Fingall tried to stay neutral between the government and the rebel as most of the nobility and gentry of the Pale did. On 16 November he was appointed a commissioner to negotiate with the rebels, "with a view to suspend for some time the sad effects of licentiousness and rapine, until the kingdom was put in a better posture of defence".{{Sfn|Dunlop|1896|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati45stepuoft/page/440/ 440, right column, line 12]|ps=. "On the outbreak of the Rebellion in October 1641, he endeavoured, like the nobility and gentry of the Pale generally, to maintain an attitude of neutrality between the government and the northern party, and on 16 November was appointed a commissioner to confer with all persons in arms, "with a view to suspend for some time the sad effects of licentiousness and rapine, until the kingdom was put in a better posture of defence"."}}

His behaviour caused him to be mistrusted by the Government, and on 17 November he was proclaimed an outlaw.{{Sfn|Bellings|1885|p=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175001605297&view=2up&seq=404 360]|ps=. "Persons indicted of treason in the King's Bench in Hilary terme, anno decimao septimo Caroli Regis, 1641, and outlawed thereupon: Meath:—Fingall, Christopher [Plunkett], Earl of."}} He thereupon played a prominent role in bringing about an alliance between the Ulster party and the nobility and gentry of the Pale. He was present at the meeting at the Hill of Crofty, and subsequently at that at the Hill of Tara, where he was appointed general of the horse for the county of Meath. He, therefore, led the rebel horse at the siege of Drogheda.{{Sfn|Lodge|1789|p=[https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland06lodg/page/185/ 185, bottom]|ps=. "... was commander in chief of the horse at the siege of Drogheda ..."}} His name is attached to the principal documents drawn up by the Irish Confederates in justification of their taking up arms. He was a member of the general assembly of the Confederation of Kilkenny, and, by taking the oath of association against the papal nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini in June 1648, proved his fidelity to the original demands of the confederates; but otherwise, he played an inconspicuous part in the history of the confederation.

On 2 August 1649 Lord Fingall fought under James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond at the battle of Rathmines where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Parliamentarians. He died of his wounds about a fortnight later while in captivity in Dublin Castle. He was buried in St Catherine's Church on 18 August.{{R|Clarke}} The Parliamentarians accused him of high treason, and his estates were confiscated by the English Commonwealth's Act for the Settlement of Ireland on 12 August 1652{{Sfn|Dunlop|1896|p=[440]|ps=. "He was seven times indicted for high treason, and his estates were confiscated by the act for the speedy settlement of Ireland on 12 Aug. 1652."}} and Beaulieu was given to Sir Henry Tichborne as tenant to the state by Cromwell.{{Sfn|Armstrong|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198614047/page/755/ 755, left column, line]|ps=. "... grant of lands at Beaulieu, co. Louth, of which he had been awarded possession, as tenant to the State, by Cromwell."}} Fingall's son and heir by 1677 had recovered much of the family property, but Beaulieu was permanently lost to the Plunketts.

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|refs=

{{Harvnb|Clarke |2009 |loc=[Last paragraph] |ps=. "... was buried on 18 August in St Catherine's church."}}

}}

Subject matter monographs:

• Click here. Aidan Clarke 2009 in Dictionary of Irish Biography
• Click here. Robert Dunlop 1896 in Dictionary of National Biography
• Click here. Ohlmeyer 2004 in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Armstrong |first=R. M. |editor1-last=Matthew |editor1-first=Colin |editor1-link=Colin Matthew |editor2-last=Harrison |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian) |date=2004 |title=Tichborne, Sir Henry (1581?–1667) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |volume=54 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |pages=754–756 |isbn=0-19-861404-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198614047/page/754/ |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|last=Bellings |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Bellings |editor-last=Gilbert |editor-first=John Thomas |editor-link=John Thomas Gilbert |date=1885 |title=History of the Irish Confederation and the War in Ireland 1643-1644 |edition=limited to two hundred copies |volume=III |publisher=Printed for the editor by M. H. Gill & Son |location=Dublin |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175001605297}} – 1643 to 1644
• {{Cite book|last1=Burke |first1=Bernard |author1-link=Bernard Burke |last2=Burke |first2=Ashworth Peter |date=1915 |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage |edition=77th |publisher=Harrison |location=London |oclc=1155471554 |url=https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/}}
• {{Cite web|last=Clarke |first=Aidan |editor1-last=McGuire |editor1-first=James |editor2-last=Quinn |editor2-first=James |date=October 2009 |title=Plunket, Christopher |website=Dictionary of Irish Biography |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/plunket-christopher-a7380 |access-date=24 June 2023}}
• {{Cite book|last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |author-link=George Edward Cokayne |date=1890 |title=Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant |edition=1st |volume=III |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London |oclc=1180838776 |url=https://archive.org/details/completepeerage03cokahrish/}} – D to F (for Fingall)
• {{Cite book|last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |author-link=George Edward Cokayne |date=1895 |title=Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant |edition=1st |volume=VI |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London |oclc=1180818801 |url=https://archive.org/details/completepeerage06cokahrish/}} – N to R (for Ormonde)
• {{Cite book|last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |author-link=George Edward Cokayne |editor-last=Gibbs |editor-first=Vicary |editor-link=Vicary Gibbs (St Albans MP) |date=1926 |title=The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant |edition=2nd |volume=V |publisher=St Catherine Press |location=London |oclc=228661424 |url=https://archive.org/details/CokayneG.E.TheCompletePeerageSecondEditionVolume5EAGO/}} – Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat
• {{Cite book|last=Debrett |first=John |author-link=John Debrett |date=1828 |title=Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |edition=17th |volume=II |publisher=F. C. and J. Rivington |location=London |oclc=54499602 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/}} – Scotland and Ireland
• {{Cite book|last=Duffy |first=Seán |date=2002 |title=The Illustrated History of Ireland |publisher=Contemporary Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8092-2437-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto0000duff/ |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|last=Dunboyne |first=Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, Baron |date=1968 |title=Butler Family History |edition=2nd |publisher=Rothe House |location=Kilkenny |url=https://archive.org/details/butlerfamilyhist00dunb/}}
• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Dunlop |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Dunlop (historian) |editor-last=Lee |editor-first=Sidney |editor-link=Sidney Lee |date=1896 |title=Plunket, Christopher, second earl of Fingall (d. 1649) |encyclopedia=Dictionary of National Biography |volume=XLV |publisher=Smith, Elder, & Co. |location=London |pages=440–441 |oclc=8544105 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati45stepuoft/page/440/}}
• {{Cite book|editor-last=Fryde |editor-first=Edmund Boleslaw |editor-link=Edmund Fryde |editor2-last=Greenway |editor2-first=D. E. |editor3-last=Porter |editor3-first=S. |editor4-last=Roy |editor4-first=I. |date=1986 |title=Handbook of British Chronology |publisher=Offices of the Royal Historical Society |edition=3rd |series=Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 |location=London |isbn=0-86193-106-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis0000unse/ |url-access=registration}} – (for timeline)
• {{Cite book|last=Lodge |first=John |author-link=John Lodge (archivist) |editor-last=Archdall |editor-first=Mervyn |editor-link=Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary) |date=1789 |title=The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom |volume=VI |publisher=James Moore |location=Dublin |oclc=264906028 |url=https://archive.org/details/peerageofireland06lodg/}} – Viscounts, barons
• {{Cite book|last=Mountmorres |first=Hervey Redmond Morres, Viscount |date=1792 |title=The History of the Principal Transactions of the Irish Parliament from the Year 1634 to 1666 |volume=I |publisher=T. Cadell |location=London |oclc=843863159 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyprincipa00soutgoog/}} – House of Lords
• {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Ohlmeyer |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Ohlmeyer |editor1-last=Matthew |editor1-first=Colin |editor1-link=Colin Matthew |editor2-last=Harrison |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian) |date=2004 |title=Plunket, Christopher, second earl of Fingal |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |volume=44 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |pages=626–627 |isbn=0-19-861394-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613946/page/626/ |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|last=Warner |first=Ferdinand |date=1768 |title=History of the Rebellion and Civil-War in Ireland |volume=I |publisher=James William |location=Dublin |oclc=82770539 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyrebellio00warngoog/}} – 1641 to 1643

{{Refend}}

{{S-start}}

{{S-reg|ie}}

{{S-bef|before=Luke Plunket}}

{{S-ttl|title=Earl of Fingall |years=1637–1649}}

{{S-aft|after=Luke Plunket}}

{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fingall, Christopher Plunket, 2nd Earl}}

Category:1649 deaths

Category:17th-century Irish politicians

Category:Earls of Fingall

Category:People from County Meath

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:Burials at St Michan's Church, Dublin

Category:17th-century Irish military personnel