John Fitzpatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory

John, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, was one of the great horse racing enthusiasts in the reign of "Mad King" George III.
In January 1765 the 2nd Earl began an affair with Lady Grafton, the unhappy wife of the decadent Duke of Grafton. They had a son in 1768 and eloped, much to Grafton's embarrassment.

The title became extinct, and his sons declared illegitimate because:

by a subsequent marriage, celebrated by a Catholic priest, and therefore invalid according to the English law of the period, though perfectly valid coram Deo, his Lordship, who died at Farming-wood , in 1818, left two sons, viz. John Wilson Fitzpatrick and Richard Wilson Fitzpatrick.

Links and Citations:

• The history and antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory 1981
• Derobeck Family History
• Wiki Pedeia
• The Peerage
• History of Parliament Online
• The Fitzpatricks- Earls of Upper Ossory