Earl of Bandon

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox hereditary title

| name =

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| creation_date = {{date|29 August 1800|dmy}}

| creation =

| monarch = George III

| peerage = Peerage of Ireland

| baronetage =

| first_holder = Francis Bernard, 1st Earl of Bandon

| last_holder = Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon

| present_holder =

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| limitation =

| remainder_to = 1st Earl's heirs of the body lawfully begotten

| subsidiary_titles = Viscount Bernard
Viscount Bandon
Baron Bandon

| status = Extinct

| extinction_date =

| family_seat =

| former_seat = Castle Bernard

| motto = Virtus probata florescit (Tried virtue flourishes)

| arms = Argent, on a bend azure, three escallops of the field

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File:Earl of Bandon in Burma WWII IWM CI 1323.jpg Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon.]]

Earl of Bandon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon, son of politician James Bernard.{{cite book |title=Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage |date=1914 |publisher=Burke's Peerage Limited |location=London |pages=172-173 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Pf8cAAAAYAAJ/page/172/mode/2up |access-date=24 September 2024}} Francis Bernard had already been created Baron Bandon, of Bandon Bridge in the County of Cork, in 1793,{{ London Gazette | issue = 13599 |page=1082 | date = 3 December 1793 }} Viscount Bandon, of Bandon Bridge in the County of Cork, in 1795,{{ London Gazette | issue = 13821 |page=1052 | date = 10 October 1795 }} and was made Viscount Bernard at the same time as he was granted the earldom. These titles were also in the Peerage of Ireland.

The titles descended from father to son until the death of his great-grandson, James, the fourth Earl, in 1924. The late Earl was succeeded by his first cousin twice removed, Percy Bernard, the fifth Earl. The latter was the great-grandson of the Right Reverend Charles Bernard, Bishop of Tuam, younger son of the second Earl. The fifth Earl was an Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Air Force. He had two daughters but no sons and on his death in 1979 the titles became extinct.{{cite news |title= Obituary: Earl of Bandon |work=The Times |publisher=The Times Digital Archive |date=9 February 1979 |page=16 }}

Francis Bernard, great-grandfather of the first Earl, was a lawyer and politician while Francis' younger brother Arthur is the 7th-great-grandfather of Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.{{cite news|last=Gartland|first=Fiona|title=Rebel roots: Justin Trudeau’s Irish ancestry from Co Cork revealed|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/rebel-roots-justin-trudeau-s-irish-ancestry-from-co-cork-revealed-1.3143429|date=4 July 2017|access-date=15 October 2017}}{{cite news|title=Bandon claims Trudeau Just-In time|url=http://www.southernstar.ie/news/roundup/articles/2017/07/10/4142853-bandon-claims-trudeau-justin-time|newspaper=The Southern Star|last=O'Mahony|first=Kieran|date=10 July 2017|access-date=4 May 2018}}

The family seat of the Earls of Bandon was Castle Bernard, County Cork, in the Republic of Ireland. Castle Bernard itself was destroyed as a result of an IRA attack in 1921, when the 4th earl was abducted for 10 days, and now stands as a ruin.{{cite news |title=Seal of approval as historic items come home to Cork 100 years after 1921 IRA kidnapping |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/seal-of-approval-as-historic-items-come-home-to-cork-100-years-after-1921-ira-kidnapping/40457252.html |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=Irish Independent |date=23 May 2021 |language=en}} The family later built a new home on the estate, which remained in the ownership of Lady Jennifer Bernard (1935–2010), the elder daughter of the late 5th and last Earl of Bandon by his first wife, until her death. The Castle Bernard estate is owned by Lady Frances Carter (b. 1943), the younger sister of the late Lady Jennifer Bernard.{{cite news |title=Heiress managed ancient Cork estate and became a community activist |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/heiress-managed-ancient-cork-estate-and-became-a-community-activist-1.680817 |access-date=24 September 2024 |work=The Irish Times |date=19 June 2010 |language=en}}