Edmund Sexton Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery

From Wikipedia, July 2014:

Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery (8 April 1719 – 24 February 1806) was an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons, serving as Speaker of the House between 1771 and 1785. He was born in Limerick, into one of the city's most politically influential families, elder son of the Rev. Stacpoole Pery and Jane Twigge.

Contents [show] 1 Political career2 Role in the development of Limerick3 Family4 See also5 References

Political career[edit]A trained barrister,[1] Pery became a member of the Irish House of Commons for the Wicklow Borough constituency in 1751.[1] On the dissolution of the house following the death of George II, Pery was elected for the constituency of Limerick City and served from 1761 until 1785, becoming Speaker of the House in 1771.[2] In 1783, he stood also for Dungannon, however chose to sit for Limerick City. He was considered one of the most powerful politicians in Ireland in his time, leading a faction which included his nephew the future Earl of Limerick and his relatives by marriage, the Hartstonges. Following his resignation, he was created a Peer with the title Viscount Pery, of Newtown Pery, near the City of Limerick,[3] although as he had no male heirs, he was the only holder of that title.[4]

Role in the development of Limerick[edit]Pery is also noted for his part in the history of the architecture of Limerick. In 1765, he commissioned the engineer Davis Dukart to design a town plan for land that Pery owned on the southern edge of the existing city,[5] which led to the construction of the Georgian area of the city later known as Newtown Pery. He was also commemorated in the naming of Pery Square.[2]

Family[edit]Pery married Patricia Martin of Dublin in 1756, who died a year later, and secondly Elizabeth Vesey, daughter of the 1st Baron Knapton. He and Elizabeth had two daughters: Diana, who married Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly and Frances, who married Nicolson Calvert, M.P. for Hertfordshire. Pery's younger brother William was a leading figure in the Church of Ireland, becoming Bishop of Killala and subsequently Bishop of Limerick; he was also ennobled as Baron Glentworth. William's son Edmund, for supporting the Act of Union, was made Earl of Limerick in 1803.