Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thomas Dillon
Viscount Dillon
Tenure	1630–1673
Predecessor	Theobald, 3rd Viscount Dillon
Successor	Thomas, 5th Viscount Dillon
Born	March 1615
Died	1673
Spouse(s)	Frances White
Issue Detail	Thomas & others
Father	Christopher Dillon
Mother	Jane Dillon

Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon (1615–1673) was an important figure in Irish history. He held his title for 42 years, a time of great change and conflict in Ireland. During his life, Ireland saw major events like the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the Irish Confederate Wars.

Thomas Dillon was a supporter of the King (a royalist). He sometimes sided with the Irish Confederates, a group of Irish Catholics, but he was a moderate leader who didn't always agree with everyone. He was involved in several battles and even successfully defended the town of Athlone in 1650.

Early Life of Thomas Dillon

Thomas Dillon was born in March 1615 in Ireland. He was the second son of Christopher Dillon and his wife, Jane Dillon. His father, Christopher, was the oldest son of Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon. Sadly, Christopher died before his own father, so he never became a viscount himself. Christopher was an important landowner from Ballylaghan in County Mayo.

Thomas's mother, Jane, was the oldest daughter of James Dillon, 1st Earl of Roscommon. Both his parents came from different branches of the same large family, the Dillons. This family, known as "Old English," had lived in Ireland since 1185. That's when Sir Henry Dillon came to Ireland with Prince John. Thomas's parents married in 1604 and had seven sons and five daughters.

Thomas was the second son in his family. His older brother, Lucas, was born in 1610.

His brothers were:

• Lucas (1610–1629), who became the 2nd Viscount Dillon.
• Thomas (1615–1673), our subject.
• Theobald, who was the father of the 6th Viscount.
• James, who never married.
• John, who married a widow named Bingham.
• Christopher, who died young.
• Francis, who also died young.

Thomas also had five sisters:

• Joan, who married John O'Madden, a leader of his family group in County Galway.
• Elizabeth, who became a nun.
• Mary, who also became a nun.
• Eleanora, who died young.
• Mary, who also died young.

Becoming a Viscount

Thomas's father died on 28 February 1624 when Thomas was eight years old. Just two weeks later, on 15 March 1624, his grandfather, the 1st Viscount, also passed away.

Thomas's older brother, Lucas, then became the 2nd Viscount Dillon. Lucas was viscount for about five years. He died in 1629, leaving behind a baby son named Theobald, who was only three months old. This baby, Theobald, became the 3rd Viscount. He was placed under the King's care, meaning the King was in charge of his upbringing and his family's lands. However, Theobald lived for only about a year, dying on 13 May 1630.

Since Thomas was Theobald's uncle and the next male in line, he became the 4th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen. He was 15 years old at the time, so he also became a "ward of the King." The King then sold the right to look after Thomas and his lands to Thomas's uncle, Lucas Dillon of Loughglynn, and to Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot.

In that same year, 1630, Lord Dillon decided to change his religion. He became a Protestant and joined the Church of Ireland.

Family Life

In 1635, when he was about 20, Lord Dillon married Frances White. Frances was the daughter of Nicholas White, a Protestant gentleman from Leixlip. Her mother, Ursula Moore, was the granddaughter of Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore. Frances brought a large sum of money, £3000, as a dowry when she married Thomas. This would be worth a lot of money today!

Frances's sister, Mary, married Theobald Taaffe, who later became the 1st Earl of Carlingford. This made Theobald Taaffe Thomas Dillon's brother-in-law.

Thomas and Frances had six sons and several daughters, whose names are not all known. Their sons were:

• Charles (born 1636), who became a general in the French and Spanish armies.
• Christopher (died 1663), who never married.
• Rupert, who died while serving as a page (a young attendant) to King Charles II when the King was living in exile.
• Thomas (died 1674), who became the 5th Viscount after his father.
• Ormond, who died young.
• Nicholas, who also died young.

Politics and Power in Ireland

Thomas Wentworth, who later became the 1st Earl of Strafford, was appointed as the King's main representative in Ireland, called the Lord Deputy, on 12 April 1632. Around 1636, Wentworth's sister married James Dillon, 3rd Earl of Roscommon, who was a cousin of Thomas Dillon on his mother's side. In January 1640, Wentworth was given an even higher title, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Lord Strafford, as he was now known, called a meeting of the Irish Parliament in 1640. This was the second Irish parliament called by King Charles I. On 16 March of that year, Lord Dillon took his seat in the House of Lords. This part of Parliament included all the Irish noblemen and had mostly Catholic members.

The main reason for this Parliament was to raise money for King Charles I. He needed an Irish army of 9000 soldiers to fight against the Scots in the Bishops' Wars. The Parliament quickly agreed to provide four payments of £45,000 each. On 31 March 1640, Parliament was paused until the first week of June.

On 3 April 1640, Strafford left Ireland because the King needed him elsewhere. He appointed Christopher Wandesford as the new Lord Deputy. Wandesford opened the second meeting of Parliament on 1 June 1640. News from England arrived that the English Parliament had refused to give the King money. The Irish Members of Parliament (MPs) regretted their earlier decision and wanted to change how the money would be collected. After two weeks of talks that didn't lead anywhere, Wandesford paused Parliament again on 17 June.

When Parliament met again on 1 October, everyone was very angry with Strafford. The House of Commons sent a group to England to complain about Strafford's unfair actions. Lord Dillon, along with other noblemen, was sent by the House of Lords to London to report their complaints. Sometime in 1640, before 23 October, Lord Dillon was made a member of the Irish Privy Council. This was a group of trusted advisors to the King in Ireland. Wandesford died on 3 December 1640.

Ireland at War

In October 1641, the Irish Rebellion began. In February 1642, the Irish Parliament sent Lord Dillon and his brother-in-law, Lord Taaffe, to England. Their mission was to present their complaints to King Charles I. However, they were stopped at Ware by order of the English Parliament. They managed to escape a few months later and met the King in York. When Lord Dillon returned to Ireland, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General.

On 15 September 1643, a "Cessation" (a ceasefire) was signed. This agreement paused the fighting for one year between the King's supporters (royalists) and the Irish Confederates. This ceasefire was renewed in September 1644.

In 1644, Lord Dillon was appointed as a joint leader of Connaught, a region in Ireland. He shared this role with Henry Wilmot, 2nd Viscount Wilmot.

When the Pope's representative, Giovanni Battista Rinuccini, arrived in Ireland on 21 October 1645, Lord Dillon faced a problem because he was Protestant. He decided to change his religion back to Catholicism. On 6 December 1646, Lord Dillon was officially welcomed back into the Roman Catholic Church by Rinuccini in Kilkenny.

After this, the Confederate Council ordered a leader named Owen Roe O'Neill to give the town of Athlone back to Lord Dillon. But O'Neill refused.

In August 1647, the Confederate army from Leinster, led by Thomas Preston, suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Dungan's Hill. This battle was against Parliamentarian troops. In this fight, Lord Dillon was in charge of the Confederate cavalry (soldiers on horseback), but they ran away early in the battle.

Lord Dillon is mentioned in the Peace Treaty signed on 17 January 1649 between the Irish Confederates and Ormond, who was acting for King Charles I. He was called "Thomas lord viscount Dillon of Costologh." He was one of the 12 important "commissioners of trust" who helped manage the peace.

In 1649, Lord Dillon took part in Ormond's attempt to capture Dublin, which was unsuccessful. He blocked the northern side of the town with 2500 men. However, he did not get involved when General Michael Jones attacked from the south-east and defeated Ormond at the Battle of Rathmines on 2 August 1649. After the battle, Ormond and Dillon retreated north. Some of Dillon's soldiers went to help defend the town of Drogheda and were caught in the Siege of Drogheda by Cromwell in September 1649.

In 1650, Lord Dillon successfully defended Athlone against a Parliamentarian army led by Henry Ireton. He cleverly delayed Ireton with long talks until Ireton decided to leave and reinforce another siege. Because of this, the Parliamentarians didn't capture Athlone or Limerick in that campaign. However, on 18 June 1651, Lord Dillon surrendered Athlone to Coote.

Lord Dillon's lands were taken away by the Cromwellian Settlement in 1652. He and his family had to live in exile on the European continent until the King was restored to power in England.

After the Wars: Restoration and Later Life

In 1662, after King Charles II was back on the throne, Thomas Dillon gave up his position as leader of Connaught to the King in exchange for money. In 1663, most of his large landholdings were given back to him by the Act of Settlement 1662. He was also given several important government jobs.

However, a man named Dubhaltach Caoch Mac Coisdealbhaigh, whose family had been cheated out of their land by the 1st Viscount, fought back. He organized groups of outlaws called "rapparees." He was eventually shot in a fight in eastern County Mayo in 1667.

After 1669, Lord Dillon inherited a large estate of about 2500 acres (about 10 square kilometers) in County Mayo and County Roscommon. This land came from his uncle, Sir James Dillon, who was the youngest son of the 1st Viscount.

Lord Dillon died in 1673. His only surviving son, Thomas, became the 5th Viscount. When the 5th Viscount died without children, the title went to his first cousin, Lucas, who became the 6th Viscount. From then on, the title passed down through the Loughglynn branch of the family.

It is believed that Frances, his wife, lived longer than him and died in 1674. She was buried in St. Mary's Chapel in Christ Church Cathedral.