The Earl of Clare | |
|---|---|
 portrait by Gilbert Stuart | |
| Lord Chancellor of Ireland | |
| In office 20 June 1789 – 28 January 1802 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Lifford |
| Attorney-General for Ireland | |
| In office 29 Nov 1783 – 20 June 1789 | |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Avonmore |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Kilwarden |
| Member of Parliament for Kilmallock | |
| In office 1783–1790 Serving with John Armstrong | |
| Preceded by | John Finlay William Christmas |
| Succeeded by | Charles Bury John Armstrong |
| Member of Parliament for Dublin University | |
| In office 1778–1783 Serving with Walter Hussey-Burgh | |
| Preceded by | Walter Hussey-Burgh Richard Hely-Hutchinson |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence Parsons Arthur Browne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1748 Donnybrook, Dublin, Kingdom of Ireland |
| Died | 28 January 1802 (aged 53) 6 Ely Place, Dublin, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Resting place | St. Peter's Churchyard |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin Christ Church, Oxford |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare PC (Ire) (1748 – 28 January 1802) was Attorney-General for Ireland from 1783 to 1789 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1789 to 1802.
He remains a deeply controversial figure in Irish history, being described variously as an old fashioned anti-Catholic Whig political party hardliner and an early advocate of the Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain (which finally happened in 1801, shortly before his death). He is said to have been an early and extremely militant opponent of Catholic Emancipation (the end of religious persecution, and the limited relaxation of both the religious discrimination and civil disabilities placed upon Catholics throughout the British Isles and the British Empire). The Earl may also have been the first person to suggest to King George III that granting Royal Assent to any form of Catholic Emancipation would violate his coronation oath.