Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam

Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam (10 May 1766 – 3 September 1805) was an Irish peer, styled Lord Gilford from 1776 to 1800.

He was the eldest son of John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam and his wife, the heiress Theodosia Magill.

In October 1793, while Gilford was abroad on the Continent, his mother announced him as a candidate for a by-election in County Down, apparently seeking an electoral pact with the Marquess of Downshire, who had just vacated the seat.

His consent was necessary to break the entail, but as he had his own debts and a newborn daughter to provide for, he was obliged to agree to the sale of his patrimony.

He spent the rest of his life in Vienna, where he was an avid gardener; while manuring a flowerbed, he contracted an infection that killed him on 3 September 1805.

Countess Marie-Caroline von Thun by Vigée Le Brun .
Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Lady Selina Meade by Sir Thomas Lawrence 1819.