Baron Athenry

Both Sir William de Birmingham, and his son Robert de Birmingham, are variously claimed to have been involved in the invasion,[1] but it is probable that, after the invasion, William returned to his home in England and left Robert their new lands in Ireland.

The last Baron was created Earl of Louth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1749, but died in 1799.

Since he had three daughters, the Earldom of Louth became extinct at his death; the Barony of Athenry became dormant.

A descendant of the younger brother of the Richard, Lord Athenry, who died in 1645, claimed the Barony as heir male in 1827, and Thomas Denman, the Attorney General for England and Wales, agreed that he was heir male, but he was not recognized by the House of Lords.

A claim by Thomas Sewell, son of the Earl of Louth's eldest daughter Elizabeth, failed on the ground that the title did not pass in the female line.