Despite his nominal Protestantism young Thomas was noted for his anti-clerical views, and this earned him the enmity of Swift, who mocked him as "Noisy Tom".
These charges have no foundation, and seem to be a garbled reference to the elder Sir Thomas's role in uncovering the Assassination Plot of 1696, which was admittedly very advantageous to the Prendergast family.
King George II of Great Britain called the younger Thomas "that Irish blockhead", an opinion which seems to have been widely shared.
[citation needed] After Sir Thomas's death, his widow married his cousin, Terence Prendergast, causing a minor scandal.
The baronetcy expired but Prendergast's estates were inherited by his nephew, John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort, the son of his sister Elizabeth and her husband Charles Smyth.