He was invested as a member of the Privy Council of Ireland, but was ejected from it in 1767 by Lord Townshend, the newly arrived Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who wished to make a "clean sweep" of the Irish administration, removing all those he regarded as corrupt or inefficient.
On 23 April 1759 Lord Athenry was created Earl of Louth in the Peerage of Ireland, a title previously held by John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth, a cousin of his remote ancestor Rickard de Bermingham.
[2] The barony fell into abeyance and became dormant: among those who unsuccessfully claimed it after him were his grandson Thomas Sewell, and the family of John Birmingham.
[citation needed] His daughters were- In recent research on Irish slave owning families, 'John Bermingham' was shown in 1798 as the owner of an estate called Dalgin 'a la cote orientale de Demerarie.'
In a Will of John Bermingham commonly called Lord Baron Athenry of Daligan House, Galway proved 27/06/1803.