Family history Lord of Roscommon

Lord of Roscommon

The Earls of Roscommon descended from the Dillon family, which settled in the mid-13th century in the Irish Midlands. Their core area was around Kilkenny West in County Westmeath and was called „Dillon’s Country“. Through land ownership, education, and royal offices, family branches rose to become intermediaries between local landowners and the administration in Dublin.

Sir Lucas Dillon became known in the 16th century as a judge and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. His son James continued the lineage and in 1619 was given the title Baron Dillon of Kilkenny-West. In 1622 King James I made him the first Earl of Roscommon. The name referred to the county and the family estates there.

Robert, the second Earl, was a jurist, member of the Irish Privy Council and at times Lord Justice. Nevertheless, the political and religious tensions of the 17th century presented the House with difficult decisions. His grandson Wentworth Dillon, the fourth Earl, spent his youth in France and Italy. After the Restoration of Charles II, he was given titles and estates back; later he turned to literature and was part of the circle around John Dryden. His „Essay on Translated Verse“ of 1684 made Roscommon a notable poet of the Restoration period.

As Wentworth's son died early, further Dillon branches followed. Colonel Cary Dillon became the fifth Earl and received estates in Galway and Roscommon in 1669. Over several generations, the title remained within the widely dispersed family, while ownership, military service, and parliamentary duties opened up different paths in life.

After the death of the twelfth Earl Michael James Robert Dillon in 1850, no succession was generally recognized. However, the family history lives on in other Dillon lines, extensive Irish archives, and Wentworth's work. A red lion, half-moon, and stars in the coat of arms are reminiscent of a house that combined law, politics, and literature.

Sources: Dictionary of Irish Biography, University of Galway Landed Estates, National Library of Ireland, The Complete Peerage

Family coat of arms Lord of Roscommon

The coat of arms is based on the historically transmitted coat of arms of the Dillon family, which has been the Earls of Roscommon since 1622. Blazon: In silver, a red upright lion between three red half-moons, from whose horns a red star emerges; above all, a blue crossbar.

The silver shield bears a red lion. Around it are arranged three red half-moons, open upward, two above and one below. Between the horns of each half-moon appears a red star.

James Dillon was made Baron Dillon of Kilkenny-West in 1619 and Earl of Roscommon in 1622. The complex family coat of arms combines the red lion, three star-decorated demi-monde, and the blue crossbar above.

Sources: Peerage of Cracroft, historical coat of arms. Debrett’s Illustrated Peerage, Dillon, Counts of Roscommon. Excerpts from History