Christopher St Lawrence, 10th Baron Howth

His personal charm made him a favourite of two successive English monarchs, and he was also a soldier of great courage and some ability, who fought under the Earl of Essex and Lord Mountjoy during the Nine Years' War.

However, his bitter quarrels with the Lord Deputy of Ireland, his feuds with other leading families of the Anglo-Irish Pale, and his suspected involvement in the conspiracy which led to the Flight of the Earls, damaged his reputation.

While his father was a devout and open Roman Catholic, at a time when it was politically dangerous to admit to such beliefs, the son converted to the Protestant faith sometime before 1605: his enemies maintained this was purely a matter of expediency, not religious conviction.

[2] According to a celebrated legend, which probably has some basis in fact, in about the year 1576 Granuaile, the so-called Pirate Queen of Galway, arrived unannounced at Howth Castle at dinner-time, only to find the gates barred.

To make amends, the Howth family pledged that in future the castle gates would always be open at dinner-time, and that an extra place would always be set at table for unexpected guests.

[3] Christopher acquired a considerable reputation as a soldier, and was active on the Government side throughout the Nine Years' War, the most serious threat to the authority of the English Crown in Ireland for several generations: the rebellion was led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

He spent much time in Offaly keeping the O'Connor clan in check: in addition, he was appointed commander of the garrison of Cavan, with power to execute martial law, and was praised for his good services there.

[3] When Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, arrived in Ireland to put down the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, (a task in which he was to fail), Christopher served with him and became a personal friend.

Meeting with no response, either to his demands to be allowed to clear his name or to his request for a sign of royal favour, he decided to seek employment abroad, a decision no doubt made easier by the recent break-up of his marriage to Elizabeth Wentworth.

The new Lord Deputy, Sir Arthur Chichester, was persuaded to plead on Christopher's behalf with Cecil, urging that he be given employment in Ireland,[1] but nothing was done for him and he entered the service of Archduke Albert in the Spanish Netherlands.

Howth, who for all his faults had considerable charm and eloquence, convinced the Privy Council of his innocence, and won the favour of King James I, although his persistent demands for a pension were rebuffed.

At home in Ireland, Howth found his reputation in ruins: as he sadly wrote to the King, the favour which James showed him merely deepened his disgrace in the eyes of his neighbours, most of whom regarded him with deep suspicion.

[1] The inquest found a verdict of manslaughter: Howth, under examination by the Irish Council, claimed to be the victim of a conspiracy to murder him whose members included Chichester, Moore and the Jones family.

The Council found that Howth had no basis whatsoever for his charges "only talk behind men's backs and loose observations", and that he was acting out of malice towards his fellow nobles.

The Council ordered him, as a man who could not control his passions, to remain at home and mend his behaviour, "for his Majesty much disliked his proud carriage towards the supreme officials of the Kingdom".

[1] He married his eldest son into the powerful "New English" Montgomery family, no doubt hoping to benefit from the Plantation of Ulster, and also to alleviate his money troubles, as his new daughter-in-law was a wealthy heiress.

The marriage may well have been a love affair, although it was also advantageous to Howth, as the Wentworths were substantial landowners in Essex, and Elizabeth's brother John, though he did not play a leading role in politics, married a granddaughter of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and left his son a "splendid inheritance".

Clearly, he lacked the political skills of his father, who retained the respect of both his peers and the Crown throughout his career: arguably he inherited a strain of mental instability from his grandfather.

[2] On the other hand, Christopher's courage and military skill were never seriously disputed: and a man who gained the friendship of Elizabeth I, James I, Robert Cecil, Essex and Mountjoy cannot have entirely lacked good qualities.