47
800Years IrishPolitical, Literary&MilitaryHistory - 15thApril2014
Always known, within the family as ‘Speaker’ Ponsonby, He was the younger
sonof Brabazon, 1
st
. Earl ofBesborough, andgrandsonof Sir JohnPonsonbyof
Haile, Cumberland. Known for his fine horsemanship, he raised his standard
forCromwell with themotto, ‘Pro rege, lege, grege’: For theKing, the Law and
the People.When asked how, with such amotto, he could serve against King
Charles,ColonelPonsonbypointedout that theword, legemeant read.Properly
translated itmeant For theKing read thePeople. Serving in Irelandduring the
CivilWarhewas granted lands inKilkennyandon theWaterford/Corkborder.
WhenCharles IIwas restored, Ponsonbyquickly abandonedhisRepublican al-
legiancebut not his belief in the supremacyof Parliament.
Grandson, John, spent the early years of his life at Bishopscourt, Co. Kildare,
whichhe inherited from hismother, SarahMargetson. Hewas a keen hunting
man and a good shot. But hewas also verywell connectedwith the greatWhig
familiesboth in IrelandandEngland (havingmarried thedaughterof theDuke
ofDevonshire) and enteredParliament asMP forNewtown, Co.Down in1739.
Hewas appointedCommissioner to the Revenue board in 1742 and succeeded
his father as 1
st
. Commissioner in 1744. He was called to the Privy Council in
1748. In 1756 hewas elected, by a largemajority, Speaker of the IrishHouse of
Commons and re-elected in 1761 and 1769 andwas six times one of the Lords
Justices of Ireland. This is recited in the inscriptionon the tablecloth.
“HISEXCELLENCYTHERIGHTHONOURABLE JOHNPONSONBY
ONEOFTHELORDS JUSTICESGENERALANDGENERALGOVER-
NORSOF IRELANDANDSPEAKEROFTHEHONOURABLEHOUSE
OFCOMMONSOF IRELAND. CARLOWMANUFACTURE1758”
In his Life of LordCharlemont (1810), FrancisHardy described him thus: His
manners were exactly the sort a parliamentary leader should have: ‘open, af-
fable and familiar with a peculiar dignity of person, at once imposing and en-
gaging.’
At this time, three families, the Boyles, Beresfords and Ponsonbys, known
collectively as ‘The Undertakers’, effectively ruled Parliament, as the Viceroys
spent as little timeaspossible inDublin. JohnPonsonby’sOfficesgavehimhuge
patronage and the considerable emoluments that went with them. When Vis-
count Townsend became Viceroy, he was determined, on behalf of George III,
to put an end to his power and that of Lord Shannon and five other Lords and
Gentlemen of the Privy Council. On the 6
th
. March 1770 Ponsonby, Shannon
andLanesboroughwere deprived of their offices. However, suchhigh-handed-
ness provoked riots andTownsendhad to call out troops to suppress them. The
ever-popularPonsonbywas re-instatedasSpeakerbut refused to thank theLord
Lieutenant, on behalf of Parliament, for restoring peace. Ponsonby regarded
Townsend’s actions as a violation of the powers and privileges of Parliament
and he resigned. He still retained enormous parliamentary influence, somuch
so that, when theDuke of Rutland becameViceroy hewanted recall him to of-
fice. Ponsonbydeclinedandpassed theWhig leadershipof theHouse tohis son,
George, who resolutely opposed its abolition in 1800 as one of Grattan’s chief
allies.George subsequentlybecameLordChancellor of Ireland.
Literature: FrancesHardy:Memoirs of the Political andPrivate Life of JamesCaulfield,
Earlof Charlemont,
Major-General, Sir JohnPonsonby: The Ponsonby Family, London, TheMedici Society,
1929
Dictionary of IrishBiography, p.
Nicola Figgis&BrendanRooney: IrishPaintings in theNational Gallery of Ireland, Vol. 1;
NBI, 2001pp. 132-134
Provenance:
Rt.Hon. JohnPonsonby1713-1787 thence tohis second son:
MajorGeneral SirWilliamPonsonbyKCB1782-1815 (killed atWaterloo), thence tohis
daughter,
TheHon. CharlottePonsonby,m.Admiral SirCharlesTalbot thence tohis son:
CharlesWilliamTalbot-Ponsonby, and thencebydescent
Edward (Ned)Talbot Ponsonby
JohnArthurTalbot-Ponsonby
Michael Talbot-Ponsonby and tohis daughter, Caroline.
€3000 - 4000
126 THERT.HON. JOHNPONSONBY (1713-1787)
HIS IRISHLINENDAMASKTABLE CLOTH,CARLOWMANUFACTURE, 1758, 272x356cm
