Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon

Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallin (died 1691) supported King James II, was attainted on 11 May 1691, and fell in the Battle of Aughrim during the Williamite War. His attainder was reversed in favour of the 8th Viscount on 20 June 1694.

Theobald Dillon
Viscount Dillon
Reign	1682–1691
Predecessor	Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount Dillon
Successor	Henry Dillon, 8th Viscount Dillon
Died	12 July 1691 Battle of Aughrim
Spouse(s)	Mary Talbot
Detail Issue Robert, Henry, & Arthur
Father	Robert Dillon of Loughglynn
Mother	Rose Dillon

Birth and origins

Theobald was born probably at Loughglynn, his parents' habitual residence. He was a son of Robert Dillon and his wife Rose Dillon. His father, Captain Robert Dillon of Loughglynn,[1] was a member of the landed gentry. He was son and heir of Lucas Dillon of Loughglynn, who had been the second son of Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon.[2] At the time of Theobald's birth, the Dillons of Loughglynn were a cadet branch of the Viscounts Dillon. Theobald's mother was a daughter of John Dillon of Streamstown.[3]

Theobald appears as the elder of two brothers:

1. Theobald (died 1691); and
2. Lucas, died unmarried.[4]

His sisters were:

1. Alice or Elizabeth, married James Ferrall;[5]
2. Jane, married Lally;[6] and
3. Mary, married a Dillon of Sinogweny.[7]

Family tree

Theobald Dillon with wife, parents, and other selected relatives. Theobald 1st Viscount d. 1624 Eleanor Tuite d. 1638 Christopher Dillon of Ballylaghan d. 1624 Lucas D. of Loughglynn Jane Moore James Dillon c. 1600 – aft. 1669 Lucas 2nd Viscount 1610–1629 Thomas 4th Viscount 1615–1673 Theobald Dillon Robert D. of Loughglynn Rose Dillon of Streamstown d. 1681 Theobald 3rd Viscount 1629–1630 Thomas 5th Viscount d. 1674 Lucas 6th Viscount d. 1682 Theobald 7th Viscount d. 1691 Jacobite Mary Talbot d. 1691 Henry 8th Viscount d. 1714 Frances Hamilton d. 1751 Arthur 1670–1733 French General Christina Sheldon 1684–1757 Richard 9th Viscount 1688–1737 Charles 10th Viscount 1701–1741 Henry 11th Viscount 1705–1787 Charlotte Lee d. 1794 Legend XXX Theobald Dillon XXX Viscounts Dillon This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.[8] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Marriage and children

Dillon married Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Talbot of Templeogue, Co. Dublin, and of Mount Talbot in County Roscommon, a brother-in-law of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell. Theobald and Mary mainly lived at Kilmore, County Roscommon.[9]

Their children included:

1. Robert, predeceased his father and died unmarried;[10]
2. Henry (died 1714), became the 8th Viscount Dillon;[11] and
3. Arthur (1670–1733), became a general in French service.[12][13]

Later life

In the 1680s Theobald was lieutenant-colonel in Clanricarde's Regiment of Guards of the Irish Army.[14]

In 1683 Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount Dillon, died childless at Kilfaughny, County Westmeath, despite having married twice.[15] He was the last of the senior branch descended from Christopher Dillon of Ballylaghan. Theobald, his second cousin, was the next heir male of the 1st Viscount. Theobald inherited the title and the estate, becoming the 7th Viscount Dillon.

In 1688 Lord Dillon, as he was now, raised two regiments of foot for James II, one commanded by his eldest son, Henry Dillon, the other by his second son, Arthur Dillon.[16] Both fought in the Williamite war in Ireland, but the second, Arthur Dillon's was sent to France with the Irish Brigade in April 1690 in exchange against the Lauzon's French Expeditionary Force.[17]

Lord Dillon was a Roman Catholic member in the Irish House of Lords of the Patriot Parliament of 1689. On 11 May 1691 he was attainted.[18]

Death, succession and timeline

Lord Dillon fell at the Battle of Aughrim on 12 July 1691.[19] His widow was killed accidentally by the explosion of a bomb during the Siege of Limerick on 7 September 1691.[20] As he had been attainted, his title and his lands were forfeit. However, in 1694 his son Henry managed to obtain a reversal of the attainder and succeeded to title and lands.[21]

Timeline
The accuracy of the given ages depends on that of his birth (estimated) and those of the dated events.
Age	Date	Event
0	1650, estimate	Born, probably at his parents' house at Loughglynn, County Roscommon.[lower-alpha 1]
20	1670	His third son Arthur was born.[12]
23	1673	His distant cousin Thomas Dillon, the 4th Viscount, died and was succeeded by his son, also called Thomas Dillon.[22]
24	1674	His 2nd cousin Thomas Dillon, the 5th Viscount, died and was succeeded by Lucas Dillon, another of his 2nd cousins.
32	1682	He succeeded as the 7th Viscount at the death of his 2nd cousin Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount.[15]
35	1685, 6 Feb	Accession of King James II, replacing King Charles II.[23]
38	1688	Raised Dillon's Regiment for James II.[17]
39	1689, 13 Feb	Accession of William and Mary, replacing King James II.[24]
41	1691, 11 May	Attainted by the Williamites.[18]
41	1691, 12 Jul	Killed in action at the Battle of Aughrim.[19]

Notes and references

1. His year of birth is constrained by the birth of his son Arthur in 1670.

1. Burke 1949, p. 602, right column, line 95: "ROBERT, Capt., m. Rose, eldest dau. of John Dillon of Streamstown ..."
2. Burke 1949, p. 602, right column, line 79: "Luke (Sir) of Lough Glynn, co. Roscommon, High Sheriff Mayo 1662, m. Jane dau. of John Moore ..."
3. Cokayne 1916, p. 359, line 12: "7. THEOBALD (DILLON) VISCOUNT DILLON OF CASTELLO-GALLEN, cousin and h. male, being s. and h. of Robert DILLON of Loughglynn, co. Roscommon, by Rose, 1st da. of John DILLON of Streamstown, which Robert was s. and h. of Sir Lucas D., of Loughglynn afsd."
4. Lodge 1789, p. 193, line 31: "Lucas, who died unmarried;"
5. Lodge 1789, p. 193, line 32: "Alice, or Elizabeth (married to James Ferrall of Callows, in the county of Longford, Esq.);"
6. Lodge 1789, p. 193, line 34: "Jane (first to ––––Lally of Tullynedaly, Esq. by whom she was mother of Brigadier General Lally, colonel of an Irish regiment in French service, and was wounded at the Battle of Fontenoy; the said Jane married secondly John Mac-Hubert Bourke.);"
7. Lodge 1789, p. 193, line 38: "Mary, to____Dillon of Sinogweny, in county Mayo, Gent."
8. La Tour du Pin 1913, pp. 14–15: "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"
9. Lodge (1789), p. 193, line 41: "... he [Theobald] resided chiefly at Kilmore ..."
10. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 65: "Robert d.v.p. unm."
11. Cokayne 1916, p. 359: "HENRY (DILLON), VISCOUNT DILLON OF CASTELLO-GALLEN [I.] ... He d. in Dublin, 13, and was buried 23 Jan. 1713/4 ...
12. Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 67: "Arthur, b. 1670, went into the French military service, 1690, and was Col. proprietor of the Dillon Regt."
13. Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 12: "... Hon. Arthur Dillon, Lieut. Gen. in the French service (d. 5 Feb 1732/3) ..."
14. Lodge (1789), p. 193, line 42: "... [Theobald] was lieutenent-colonel to Clanricarde's regiment of Guards in the army of King James II ..."
15. Lodge 1789, p. 191, line 7: "... he [the 6th Viscount] died in September or October 1682, at Killenfaghny in Westmeath, the usual mansion-house of the family, and having had no issue by either of his Ladies, the title and estates descended to Theobald Dillon of Kilmore, Esq., the next heir male of the body of Theobald the first Viscount ..."
16. D'Alton 1855, p. 584: "He [Theobald] raised two Regiments for King James's service; the one ... commanded by the above Colonel Henry Dillon, his eldest son ... The second Regiment was put under the command of his second son, the Honorable Arthur Dillon ..."
17. Boulger 1911, p. 209: "On the other hand Viscount Dillon was not at all opposed to his regiment going to France under the command of his second son, Arthur, who was a keen soldier."
18. Cokayne 1916, p. 359, line 18: "He [Theobald] was attainted 11 May 1691&nbsp:..."
19. Boulger 1911, p. 243: "Lord Galway and Lord Dillon (Theobald) were killed."
20. Cokayne 1916, p. 359, line 24: "His widow was accidentally killed a few weeks later, 7 Sep. 1691, in Limerick, during the siege, by the explosion of a bomb."
21. Lodge 1789, p. 195, line 1: "After this period it appears by a rule book of the Court of King's Bench, in Trinity Term (6. Will and Mary) that the outlawry against his father was reversed by the judgement of the said court, and which judgement was duly entered up and enrolled, and also examined by the House of Lords, 2 December 1697, when the Lord Viscount Massereene reported that the said outlawry was reversed."
22. Burke1949, p. 603, left column, line 43: "... and d. 1672-3, having had with other issue ... Thomas, 5th Viscount. His only surviving son."
23. Smyth 1839, p. xiii, line 20: "James II. . [Accession] 6 February, 1685"
24. Smyth 1839, p. xiii, line 21: "William and Mary . [Accession] 13 February, 1689"

• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
• Boulger, Demetrius Charles (1911), The Battle of the Boyne, London: Martin Secker
• Cokayne, George Edward (1916), Gibbs, Vicary (ed.), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 4 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Dacre to Dysart (for Dillon)
• D'Alton, John (1855), Illustrations, historical and genealogical, of King James's Irish army list, 1689, Dublin: Published by the author, hdl:2027/bc.ark:/13960/t3rv2w26c
• La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913), Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (in French), 1 (7th ed.), Paris: Librairie Chapelot
• Lodge, John (1789), The Peerage of Ireland, 4, Dublin: James Moore – Viscounts (for Dillon)
• Smyth, Constantine (1839), Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland, London: Henry Butterworth (for Table of reigns)

External links

• Genealogy of Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallin on The Peerage website