Annotation:Lord Inchiquin
X:1 T:Lord Inchiquin M:3/4 L:1/8 R:Air K:D A2|d2 de fe|d2 ed cB|A2F2A2|f4 e2|d2 ed cB|A2G2F2| G2 BA GF|E4 ag|f3e d2|d2c2B2|A2F2A2|f4 e2| d2 ed cB|A d3 F2|E4 D2|D4:||:A2|AB cd e2|e2d2e2| f2d2f2|e4d2|de fg a2|a2b2g2|f2d2f2|e4 fe| de fg a2|a2b2g2|f3g e2|d4f2|gf e2e2|e2f2d2| c3d B2|A4 ag|f3e d2|d3cB2|A2F2A2| g4 fe|d2 ed cB|A d3 F2|E4 D2|D4:|]
LORD INCHIQUIN. Irish, Slow Air or Planxty (3/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed by blind Irish harper Biography:Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) in honor of the young 4th Earl of Inchiquin, William O'Brien (1694-1777), who became Grandmaster of the Freemasons of England in 1726. The family seat was in Dromoland Castle, Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare, which remained until 1962 in the hands of the Lords Inchiquin (it is now a high-end resort). Donal O'Sullivan (1958) says that O'Carolan was visiting the Rev. Charles Massey of Doonass, nearby to Dromoland, and suspects the piece was composed on that occasion.
Inchiquin was a Whig Member of Parliament for much of his life, and also held the offices of Governor of County Clare from (1741 to 1777) and Custos Rotulorum of County Clare (1762 to 1767). In 1753 he was admitted to the Privy Council of Ireland. Wikipedia notes that "Inchiquin was feted by antiquarians and many of the works of Irish history produced at this time are dedicated to him; as an Anglican deriving his lineage from an old Gaelic family, he was a politic choice for those wishing to disseminate their work in Ascendancy Ireland and Hanoverian Britain." [1] . A former Lord Inchiquin is remembered in the south of Ireland as "O'Brien of the burnings," the leader of the Parliamentarian army that defeated the confederate army of Allister McDonnell at Knockinnoss, County Cork, in 1647 with a cost of 4,000 dead over four hours of fighting. The survivors fled to Sliabh Luachra.