(585) Bernard of Castle Bernard, Earls of Bandon

Bernard of Castle Bernard,
Earls of Bandon

The origins of this family are unusually obscure. Bennett's History of Bandon (1869) states that they derived from a family of this name settled at Acorn Bank in Westmorland, but there seems to be no evidence for the existence of such a family. All that can be said for certain is that Francis Bernard (d. 1659), with whom the genealogy below begins, was an English settler who purchased Castle Mahon (Co. Cork) - later renamed Castle Bernard - in 1639. Although his descendants consistently spelled their name as 'Bernard', his will names him as Francis Barnard, and the Visitation of Essex for 1612 has a pedigree for a Barnard family of Margaretting who used the same coat of arms as the Bernards of Castle Bernard, and among whom the forename Francis was in regular use. It is therefore likely that there was a connection between Francis Bernard (d. 1659) and the Barnards of Margaretting, but unfortunately I have failed to demonstrate it since the parish registers for Margaretting do not survive before 1627. Perhaps someone with more time to go through wills, deeds and other records will be able to make the connection.

Francis Bernard's wife is said to have been Elizabeth Freke, and there is long subsequent history of intermarriage between the Bernards of Castle Bernard and the Frekes of Castle Freke, which has led to some confusion about which marriages took place in which generation, and the relationships between the parties. Elizabeth is usually said to have been the daughter of Arthur Freke (b. 1604), but the dating evidence suggests that she was more probably his sister. Francis Bernard had seven daughters before his wife finally produced a son and heir, Francis Bernard (c.1640-90), who married Mary Freke in 1661 and produced two sons and six daughters over the next few years.

At the time of the Jacobite invasion of Ireland, Bandon was a largely Protestant town in an area generally controlled by the Jacobites. Francis Bernard and his two sons were all on the list of Protestant landowners attainted by the 'Patriot' Parliament in 1689, and in 1690 the Jacobites occupied Bandon, rounded up and held captive the male inhabitants, and attacked Castle Mahon. The Bernards and their servants defended the castle and successfully repulsed the attack, but at the expense of the death of Francis Bernard, who was killed during the attack. His elder son, Francis Bernard (1663-1731), who had trained as a lawyer in Dublin and London, soon recovered the family estates, and over the next forty years pursued a successful legal career. He was also active in politics, and held a seat in the Irish parliament for some twenty-five years, but since he was a Tory and therefore out of office for most of his lifetime, his political career was less successful that his legal one, which saw him rise to be Prime Serjeant-at-Law and a justice of the common pleas. In 1697, he married Alice Ludlow, from another Tory family, and they had at least six sons and one daughter. Between 1700 and 1725, his profits from the law enabled him to buy large amounts of land, much of it forfeited by those who had supported James II against William III, like the Earl of Clancarty. His holdings included the town of Macroom, where he obtained the right to hold a market in 1712, and much land in west Cork, but also land at Kinsalebeg (Co. Waterford). About 1715-25 he undertook a major remodelling of the house at Castle Mahon, which was then renamed as Castle Bernard.

Prospect Hall, Kinsalebeg

When Francis died in 1731, he was succeeded at Castle Bernard by his eldest son, Francis Bernard (1698-1783), but Prospect Hall, his seat at Kinsalebeg, passed to his sister, Anne Foulkes (d. 1754) before descending in turn to his younger sons, Stephen Bernard (1701-61) and Arthur Bernard (1706-67), both of whom died without issue. It was then reunited with the main estate held by their elder brother. Francis had became a widower at the age of 30 and soon afterwards moved to England after a dispute with his neighbours over the planting of some trees on common land. In 1745 he bought Bassingbourn Hall in Essex (demolished in the early 19th century and apparently unrecorded), and made his home there, but later in life, he seems to have became mentally ill and obsessed by the idea that he would die in poverty. To save money, he gave up Bassingbourn and took cheap lodgings with an apothecary in Westminster, where he became a recluse. He left a rather strange will that hints at mistrust of his relatives, but which named neither an executor nor a residuary legatee, and the courts seem to have decided that his nearest male relative should inherit his extensive property. This was his nephew, James Bernard (1729-90), the only surviving son of his brother, North Ludlow Bernard (1705-53), who became MP for County Cork in 1781. James had a large family by his first wife, but in 1789 he married a much younger clergyman's daughter, 'to whose tender embraces' as the Gentleman's Magazine delicately put it, 'it is feared, he fell a sacrifice', for he had a severe stroke and died in the summer of 1790.

The ownership of the Bernard estates now descended to his eldest son, Francis Bernard (1755-1830), an ambitious man whose political views were not very consistently held, and who seems to have been something of a tyrant in his household. His chief concern was to secure a peerage, an objective in which he was successful in 1793, when he became Baron Bandon. He was advanced to a viscountcy in 1795 and in 1798 his father-in-law, the 2nd Earl of Shannon, persuaded the Lord Lieutenant to recommend to the government that he should be raised to an earldom, although this did not finally happen until after the passage of the Act of Union, when the newly-minted Earl of Bandon was also made one of the first 28 Irish representative peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords in London. Lord Bandon celebrated his ascent into the nobility by largely rebuilding Castle Bernard to the designs of a Cork architect much influenced by the style of James Wyatt. 

At his death in 1830, the 1st Earl was succeeded by his eldest son, James Bernard (1785-1856), 2nd Earl of Bandon, who had pursued a political career in the House of Commons before coming into the title. He was the owner of the estates during the period of the Great Famine of 1845-49, and was obliged to grant substantial rent reductions in 1849. He introduced the practice of employing gentlemen-agents (including the Rev. Samuel Beamish, the Rev. Joseph Jervois, and the 3rd earl's younger brother, Henry Boyle Bernard (1812-95) of Coolmain Castle) to manage the estates, which amounted by the 1880s to some 41,000 acres, divided into two large groupings known as the Eastern and Western Estates. The agents brought a certain amateurishness to estate management, which may not have served the best interests of the estate at a time when it was facing unprecedented economic challenges. The 2nd Earl married Albinia, daughter of the Archbishop of Cashel, and had three sons and a daughter who survived to adulthood. His second son, the Hon. Charles Brodrick Bernard (1811-90), became bishop of Tuam in 1867, while his eldest son Francis Bernard (1810-77), 3rd Earl of Bandon succeeded to the estates in 1856. 

The 3rd Earl married the daughter of a Shropshire landowner, and produced one son and six daughters. The son, James Francis Bernard (1850-1924), 4th Earl of Bandon, was both politically more astute and more business-minded than his immediate predecessors. He was resident on his estates, and engaged as his land agents Richard Doherty senior and junior, and their business partner George Thomas Jones, and worked with them to reorganise the estate, much of which was sold to tenants under the 1903 Land Act. As a result of their efforts, the 4th Earl seems to have enjoyed a fairly good reputation as a landowner in the late 19th and early 20th century. The scale of the estate insulated it from the most severe economic repercussions of the agricultural depression and rising taxation, and the Earl and Countess continued to entertain generously. During the Civil War, however, Castle Bernard was burned to the ground on 21 June 1921 by an IRA raiding party led by Sean Hales, while the Earl himself was kidnapped and held prisoner for a few weeks before being returned to Bandon and released. The house and many of the contents had been destroyed, and Lord Bandon later settled in England. Although he had been unharmed during his captivity, the stress of the experience seems to have taken a toll on his health, and he died just three years later. Since he had no children, the earldom devolved on a great-great-grandson of the 2nd Earl, Paddy Bernard (1904-79), 5th Earl of Bandon, who was then in training to join the Royal Air Force. He was the first peer to serve in the recently-formed service, and he went on to have a distinguished career, retiring as an Air Chief Marshal. He also inherited the ruins of Castle Bernard, but much of the estate that had not already been sold under the Land Act was left to other relatives. He used the compensation paid for the destruction of Castle Bernard to build a smaller house close to the ruins, which remains in the possession of his descendants, but as he had no male heir, the earldom and associated peerages became extinct on his death.

Castle Bernard, Bandon, Co. Cork

The origins of Castle Bernard lie in a great square tower house of the O'Mahony family on the south bank of the River Bandon, which was known as Castle Mahon. Although much altered, this survives in the west wing of the later house, and retains its original battered base and a pointed window on the north front. It was acquired in 1639 by Francis Bernard but it was only given its present name in the early 18th century, when another Francis Bernard (1663-1731), initiated work on a new house to the designs of Benjamin Crawley, with John Coltsman of Cork as stonemason. Work evidently began around 1715, and was in full swing when the surviving estate ledgers begin in 1719. It involved adding wings to the old tower house, encasing the whole in brick with Corinthian pilasters, quoins and platbands in Portland stone. Around 1725, a formal garden was created by William Fennell, with terraces, a canal, cascades, jets d’eau and statuary. This was no doubt swept away later in the 18th century when it had become unfashionable.  The one visible survival of the 1720s work is a brick-built range west of the house with elliptical first-floor windows.

In 1794 Michael Shanahan of Cork prepared designs for a new house at Castle Bernard for the 1st Earl of Bandon, who was raised to the peerage in 1793 and became an earl seven years later. He no doubt wanted a grander house befitting his new status. Shanahan provided a modest estimate of £9,200 for the total cost. His scheme involved pulling down the additions to the original tower house, and instead erecting a new neo-classical block to its east. with a linking corridor between the two. The new main block was of two storeys over the basement and had a nine-bay entrance front. The garden front was similar but had a substantial full-height bow occupying the three centre bays. The design was influenced by Castle Coole (Co. Fermanagh), built in 1790-97 to the designs of James Wyatt, with whom Shanahan had worked at Downhill (Co. Derry) in the 1780s. The walls of the new block were rendered and the windows were simple voids in the neo-classical manner, with no architraves. Perhaps to save money, a bolection-moulded doorcase was reused from the 1720s house. The block was intended to have a pair of matching wings, but only that to the west was built. 

Castle Bernard: the house from the south-east in the late 19th century, photographed by Robert French. The old tower can be seen in the background. Image: National Library of Ireland.

The plan of the 18th century block closely followed that of Castle Coole. The entrance hall had a screen of Portland stone pilasters and columns, and delicate plasterwork on the walls and ceilings. It originally opened to a central transverse corridor with a cantilevered Portland stone staircase at one end, but an arcaded screen wall was later inserted, presumably to reduce draughts. Either side of the hall were the drawing room and dining room, each 36 x 24 ft and 18 ft high, while across the corridor from the hall was an elegant oval saloon, which projected into the bow on the garden front. These rooms were sparely decorated with plaster friezes in the style of James Wyatt. Work on fitting up the interior was evidently completed in 1802.

Castle Bernard: the house from the north-west in the late 19th century. Image: National Library of Ireland

The neo-classical house had a short life in unaltered form, for between 1836 and 1855 the 2nd Earl of Bandon commissioned an unknown architect to apply a rather half-hearted Gothic dress to the classical body, and to improve the connection between the main block and the old castle. The entrance front was given square turrets at the corners and a battlemented parapet, but this was only taken part of the way around the sides of the house. The west wing, incorporating the old tower house, was enlarged, raised in height, and given tall battlemented parapets and bartizans. To the right of the entrance front, three large Gothic windows were created that suggest the presence of a great hall, but actually only look into an open service court. The garden front was altered less, and no great changes were made to the interior, which retained its classical decoration. Probably at the same time, new offices, stables, and a racquet court were built to the west of the house, further extending what had become a rambling  composition. The final changes to the house were made in the 1870s, when the Georgian sash windows were taken out, and the window openings were given plain architraves and filled with rather heavy Perpendicular-style tracery.

Castle Bernard: the ruins of the house now sit on the edge of Bandon Golf Course.

The Bernard family remained in residence until June 1921 when the IRA raided the house, took the elderly 4th Earl captive, and set the house on fire. Lady Bandon is said to have stood on the lawn watching the house burn, defiantly singing 'God save the King'. Lord Bandon was held captive for the next three weeks before being released at the gates of the now-ruined Castle Bernard, but he never recovered from the experience and died in 1924. Although some compensation was received by the family, Castle Bernard was not rebuilt, and the 5th Earl, who was a distant cousin of his predecessor, constructed a modest bungalow behind the ruin. The earldom became extinct at his death in 1979, but although members of the family still live on the estate, the land in front of Castle Bernard is now a golf course. The ruins have decayed over the last century in a fairly picturesque way, but are now cordoned off because of the increasing danger of collapsing masonry.

Bernard family of Castle Bernard, Earls of Bandon

Bernard, Francis (d. 1659). Parentage unknown, but it is likely that he was closely related to Francis Barnard of Margaretting (Essex), Gentleman Porter of the Tower of London in the late 16th century, who used the same coat of arms. He married Elizabeth (b. c.1607), perhaps daughter of William and sister of Arthur Freke of Rathbarry Castle (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Bernard (fl. 1657); married Captain James Burrell and had issue one daughter; living in 1657, when she was mentioned in her father's will;

(2) Mary Bernard (fl. 1657); married 1st, Thomas Poole (1615-<1657) of Mayfield, Knockaveale (Co. Cork), and had issue two sons and two daughters; married 2nd, before 1657, Capt. John Freke (fl. 1670) of Garretstown and Knockanameele (Co. Cork), and had further issue six daughters; living in 1657, when she was mentioned in her father's will;

(3) Ellinor Bernard; married Capt. William Holcombe of  Ballinaboe (Co. Cork), and had issue four daughters; apparently survived her husband and received lands in lieu of his arrears of pay for service in the army before 1649;

(4) A daughter; married [forename unknown] Wiltshire, and had issue at least two daughters; probably died before 1657;

(5) Catherine Bernard (d. c.1695); married Francis Beamish (d. 1679) of Kilmalooda (Co Cork), and had issue four sons and three daughters; died about 1695, when administration of her goods was granted;

(6) Alice Bernard; married Lt. John Langton (fl. 1668) of Kilbrogan, son of Ansolme Langton of Gloucestershire, and had issue three sons and three daughters; probably died before 1657;

(7) Anne Bernard (fl. 1657); unmarried in 1657;

(8) Francis Bernard (c.1640-90) (q.v.).

He inherited Castle Mahon from his father.

He died 29 December 1659, and his will was proved in 1660. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bernard, Francis (c.1640-90). Only son of Francis Bernard (d. 1659) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William? Freke of Rathbarry Castle, born c.1640. High Sheriff of Co. Cork, 1676. He married, 1661 (settlement 5 December), Mary, daughter of Capt Arthur Freke (b. 1604) of Castle Freke, and had issue:

(1) Francis Bernard (1663-1731) (q.v.); 

(2) Maria Bernard; married 1st, 1692, Eusebius Chute (d. by 1716) of Chute Hall, Tulligaron (Co. Kerry), son of Richard Chute, and had issue five sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 1717 (contract 28 October), Francis Brewster of Brewsterfield (Co. Kerry), son of Sir David Brewster;

(3) Arthur Bernard (1666-1735) [for whom see my post on the Bernards of Palace Anne]

(4) Anne Bernard (d. 1754); married Robert Foulkes of Youghal, but apparently had no issue; inherited Prospect Hall, Kinsalebeg (Co. Waterford) from her brother Francis in 1731 and bequeathed it to her nephew, Stephen Bernard (1701-61);

(5) Elizabeth Bernard; married Rev. Samuel Wilson (c.1655-1710), rector of Castleisland (Co. Kerry), 1682-1710 and Chancellor of the diocese of Ardfert, 1684-1710, son of Samuel Wilson of Shrewsbury (Shrops.), and had issue at least one son;

(6) Mary Bernard; married Edward Adderley (c.1665-1730) of Innishannon, son of Edward Adderley;

(7) Katherine Bernard; married, 15 October 1703, Col. John Gifford of Atherne, and had issue at least one son;

(8) Dorothy Bernard; married 1688, Thomas Adderley (d. c.1691).

He inherited Castle Mahon from his father in 1659 and came of age in about 1661.

He was killed defending his castle against Jacobite forces, 15 April 1690; his will was proved a few days later and a further grant of administration of his goods was granted 2 May 1691. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bernard, Francis (1663-1731). Eldest son of Francis Bernard (c.1640-90) and his wife Mary, daughter of Capt. Arthur Freke of Castle Freke, born 1663. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1680; BA 1683), Middle Temple (admitted 1683) and King's Inns (admitted 1683). Attainted by the Jacobite 'Patriot' Parliament, 1689, but was restored to his estates by King William III. Recorder of Clonakilty, 1692, and of Kinsale, 1693; Chief justice of the palatinate of Tipperary, 1704; Seneschal of the Liberty of Tipperary, 1704-15; a Trustee of the Linen Manufacture for the Province of Munster, 1711; Solicitor-General of Ireland, 1711-14; Prime Serjeant, 1725-26; and a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, 1726-31. Tory MP for Clonakilty, 1692-93 and for Bandon, 1695-99, 1703-13 and 1715-25 in the Irish parliament. A freemason from 1731. He married, 1697, Alice (1675-1741), reckoned 'a furious Tory if not a degree beyond it' in 1716, daughter of Stephen Ludlow and granddaughter of Sir Henry Ludlow of Maiden Bradley (Wilts), and had issue:

(1) Francis Bernard (1698-1783) (q.v.);

(2) Stephen Bernard (1701-61), born 17 July 1701; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1718; BA 1728), Middle Temple (admitted 1721) and King's Inns, Dublin (called to Irish bar, 1727); barrister-at-law; MP for Bandon, 1727-60; recorder of Kinsale, 1734; inherited Prospect Hall, Kinsalebeg in 1754 from his aunt, Anne Foulkes, 'a handsome seat', where he made 'good improvements'; died unmarried in France, possibly at Tarbes*, 6 September 1761; will proved in Dublin, 1761;

(3) North Ludlow Bernard (1705-68) (q.v.);

(4) Arthur Bernard (1706-67), born 1 September 1706; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1723; BA 1728); inherited Prospect Hall from his elder brother; died May 1767 and was buried at Kinsale;

(5) William Bernard (d. 1774); married, 1736, his first cousin, Henrietta Bernard (b. 1712) of Palace Anne; died 2 December 1774 and was buried at Kinsale;

(6) John Bernard (d. 1768); buried at Bandon, 15 April 1768;

(7) Elizabeth Bernard (1703-43), born 21 February 1703; married 1st, Rt. Hon. James Caulfield (1682-1734), 3rd Viscount Charlemont, and had surviving issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 9 October 1740, Thomas Adderley (c.1713-91) of Innishannon (Co. Cork), MP for Charlemont (Co. Armagh), 1752-60, Bandon, 1761-68 and Clonakilty, 1776-91 (who m2, 1769, Margaretta, only daughter and co-heir of Edmund Bourke of Urrey (Co. Mayo), and had further issue two sons and a daughter; died in childbirth, 30 May 1743.

He recovered possession of Castle Mahon in 1690 and expanded the estate after 1700, chiefly through purchases from the Commissioners for the sale of forfeited estates. He remodelled the house c.1715-25, renaming it Castle Bernard. In 1712 he was granted the privilege of holding a market at Macroom (Co. Cork). In 1724 he bought much of Kinsalebeg near Youghal.

He died suddenly in Dublin, 29/30 June 1731, and was buried in the family vault at Ballymodan, Bandon; his will was proved in Dublin, 1731. His widow died 16 May 1741.

* He is often said to have died at Tarbes in 1757, but I have followed the History of the Irish Parliament which says he was still sitting as an MP in 1759 and gives his date of death as 1761.

Bernard, Francis (1698-1783). Eldest son of Francis Bernard (1663-1731) and his wife Alice, daughter of Stephen Ludlow, born 25/28 September 1698. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1716) and King's Inns, Dublin (member by 1724). MP for Clonakilty, 1725-60 and Bandon, 1766-76, but he moved to England in 1735 and never returned to Ireland. Although he  was repeatedly said to have a 'very large fortune' he came to believe that he would die in poverty, and so became a recluse, taking lodgings in an apothecary's house in the Haymarket, London, 'and never stirs from thence'. He married, 26 March 1722 at St Anne, Dublin, Lady Anne (1700-28), daughter of Henry Fitzmaurice Petty (1675-1751), 1st Earl of Shelburne, but had no surviving issue.

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1731 and Prospect Hall from his brother Arthur in 1767. In 1745 he purchased Bassingbourn Hall, Takeley (Essex). He left his estates to his nephew, James Bernard (1729-90), son of North Ludlow Bernard.

He died in London, 19 March, and is said to have been buried at Takeley (Essex), 21 March 1783, but has a tomb stone at Ballymodan, Bandon; his will was proved in the PCC, 10 April 1783. His wife predeceased her father and husband, and was buried at St Mary, Dublin, 2 February 1727/8.

Maj. North Ludlow Bernard 

Bernard, North Ludlow (1705-53*).  A younger son of Francis Bernard (1663-1731) and his wife Alice, daughter of Stephen Ludlow, born 15 April 1705. An officer in the Dragoons (Lt., 1724; Capt., 1739; Maj. by 1751, when he sold his commission on his second marriage, apparently at the insistence of his wife). His portrait was painted by Johann Zoffany. His second marriage was regarded as something of a mesalliance by the royal family and his wife's aristocratic circle, and was presumably a love match. He married 1st, c.1726, Rose, daughter of John Echlin of Echlinville, Ardquin (Co. Down) and 2nd, 4 September 1751, Mary (1707-69), daughter of Richard Fitzwilliam (c.1677-1743), 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam of Meryon, of Mount Merrion House (Co. Dublin), and widow of Henry Herbert (1688-1750), 9th Earl of Pembroke & Montgomery, and had issue:

(1.1) Charles Bernard (c.1727-63), born about 1727; Provost of Bandon; died about February 1763;

(1.2) James Bernard (1729-90) (q.v.);

(1.3) Alice Bernard (d. 1792); married, 29 September 1751 at Ballymodan, Captain William Beamish RN (c.1714-72) of Willsgrove, Cork, and had issue six sons and two daughters; died in Mallow (Co. Cork) in 1792; her will was proved in Dublin, 1792;

(1.4) Eliza Bernard (fl. 1789); married, 14 January 1766 at Ballymodan, Richard Sealy (d. 1789) of Richmount, Bandon, and had issue at least three sons; living in 1789;

(1.5) Mary Bernard; married, 26 August 1756 at Ballymodan, Isaac Hewitt (d. 1789) of Clancoole, Bandon.

He was buried at Ballymodan on 13 December 1753. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow died 13 February 1769; her will was proved in the PCC, 11 March 1769.

* His date of death is often given as 1768, but this seems to be incorrect, as the Dublin press reported his death in December 1753. The entry for his burial in the Ballymodan parish register was, however, incorrectly transcribed as 'Norwich Ludlow Bernard'. His name generally seems to have caused trouble: his widow refers to him as 'Thomas Bernard' in her will and his daughter Alice Beamish's descendants knew him as 'William North Ludlow Bernard', although they reused the names North and Ludlow in that family over several generations.

Bernard, James (1729-90). Second son of North Ludlow Bernard (1705-68) and his first wife, Rose, daughter of John Echlin of Echlinville, Ardquin (Co. Down), born 8 December 1729. MP for Co. Cork, 1781-90. He married 1st, 1755, Esther (d. 1780), daughter of William Smyth of Headborough (Co. Waterford), granddaughter of Sir Percy Smyth of Ballynatray (Co. Waterford) and widow of Robert Gookin (d. 1752) of Courtmacsherry, and 2nd, 5 September 1789, Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. John Sullivan (d. 1786) of Clonakilty (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1.1) Francis Bernard (1755-1830), 1st Earl of Bandon (q.v.);

(1.2) Elizabeth Bernard; died young;

(1.3) Rose Bernard (1758-1810), born 8 March 1758; married 1st, 13 November 1773, Rt. Hon. Lt. Col. William Hull (later Tonson) (1724-87), MP for Tuam, 1768-76 and Rathcormack, 1776-83, and later 1st Baron Riversdale, illegitimate son of Richard Tonson MP, and had issue eight sons and two daughters; married 2nd, 18 October 1792 at Rathcormack, apparently as his second wife, Capt. James Millerd (d. 1804), and had further issue one son; died at Lisnegar (Co. Cork), 26 May 1810;

(1.4) Esther Bernard (1759-1824), born 17 March 1759; married, 2 December 1775, Sampson Stawell (1741-1819) of Kilbrittain Castle (Co. Cork), Col. of the Bandon Cavalry, and had issue eight sons and two daughters; died 18 May 1824;

(1.5) Charles Bernard (1760-63), born 12 August 1760; died young and was buried at Ballymodan, 5 February 1763;

(1.6) Mary Bernard (c.1761-1825); married, 1778, Sir Augustus Louis Carré Warren (1754-1821), 2nd bt., of Warrens Court (Co. Cork), MP for the City of Cork, 1783-90, son of Sir Robert Warren, 1st bt., and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 14 November 1825;

(1.7) Charlotte Bernard (1763-1835), baptised at Ballymodan, Bandon, about 1 September 1763; married, 3 September 1785, Hayes St. Leger (1755-1819), 2nd Viscount Doneraile of Doneraile Court (Co. Cork), MP for Doneraile, 1776-87, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 2 September 1835;

(1.8) Elizabeth Bernard (1764-1840), baptised at Ballymodan, Bandon, 25 December 1764; married, 1785, Richard Acklom (1763-1812) of Wiseton Hall (Notts), eldest son of Jonathan Acklom, and had issue one son (who died young) and one daughter (later the Countess Spencer); died at Leamington Spa (Warks) and was buried at Brington (Northants), 25 March 1840; will proved in the PCC, 1 April 1840.

He inherited Castle Bernard, Prospect Hall and Bassingbourn Hall (Essex) from his uncle, Francis Bernard, in 1783, but sold Bassingbourn soon afterwards.

He evidently suffered a stroke before the 1790 election and lost the use of his arms and legs, presenting 'a dismal spectacle' when he took his seat in Parliament, and he died a few weeks later; buried at Ballymodan, Bandon, 25 July 1790; his will was proved 30 July 1790.  His first wife died in 1780. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Bernard, Francis (1755-1830), 1st Earl of Bandon. Eldest son of James Bernard (1729-90) and his first wife, Esther, daughter of William Smyth of Headborough (Co. Waterford) and widow of Robert Gookin, born 26 November 1755. Colonel of Bandon Independent Company of Volunteers, 1782 and an officer in the Bandon Cavalry (Capt., 1796). MP for Ennis, 1776-83 and Bandon Bridge, 1783-90 in the Irish parliament. He was raised to the Irish peerage as 1st Baron Bandon, 30 November 1793, and further promoted to be 1st Viscount Bandon, 6 October 1795 and 1st Earl of Bandon and Viscount Bernard, 29 August 1800. He was one of the initial 28 Irish representative peers in the House of Lords elected after the Act of Union, and sat on the Tory benches, 1801-30. He owed his advancement in the peerage to his political connections (especially his father-in-law) but these 'were not matched by his personal gifts'. He did not pursue a consistent line in politics and was often offensive in his manner and personal conduct, not least to his wife. He married, 12 February 1784, Lady Catherine Henrietta (1768-1815), only daughter of Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon, and had issue:

(1) James Bernard (1785-1856), 2nd Earl of Bandon (q.v.);

(2) Hon. & Very Rev. Richard Boyle Bernard (1787-1850), born 4 September 1787; educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1805; MA 1807; DD, 1821) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1809; called 1812); MP for Bandon Bridge, 1812-15, but resigned to take holy orders; ordained deacon and priest, 1815; rector of Glankeen (Co. Tipperary), 1817-22, Dean of Leighlin (Co. Carlow), 1822-50 and rector of Shankill (Co. Dublin), 1826-33; author of A tour through some parts of France, Switzerland etc. in 1814 (1815); an active promoter of charities and a supporter of the Church Education Society; died unmarried at Leighlin, 2 March 1850;

(3) Hon. Francis Bernard (1789-1813), born 27 February 1789; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1807; Lt., 1808), who served in the Peninsular War; died at Coimbra (Portugal), 24 January 1813;

(4) Lady Henrietta Catherine (aka Catherine Harriet) Bernard (1790-1850), born 7 July 1790; died unmarried, 1 December and was buried at Swindon (Glos), 9 December 1850; administration of goods granted to 4th Earl of Bandon, 10 June 1884 (estate £8,421);

(5) Hon. William Smyth Bernard (1792-1863), born 13 September 1792; an officer in 1st Dragoon Guards (Ensign, 1809; Lt., 1810; Capt., 1815; Br. Maj., 1815; retired on half-pay, 1816; hon. Lt-Col, 1851); High Sheriff of Co. Cork, 1820-21; Provost of Bandon, 1827-28, 1829-30; MP for Bandon, 1832-35, 1857-63; JP for Co. Cork; married, 31 May 1831 at Brinny (Co. Cork), Elizabeth, daughter of Lt-Col. Henry Gillman of Clancoole, Bandon, but had no issue; died 6 February 1863;

(6) Lady Charlotte Esther Bernard (1794-1846), born 28 January 1794; married, 14 June 1816 at Innishannon (Co. Cork), her first cousin, Hayes St. Leger (1786-1854), 3rd Viscount Doneraile, and had issue one son; died at Doneraile House (Co. Cork), 7 February 1846;

(7) Lady Louisa Anne Bernard (1795-1851), born 24 December 1795; died unmarried at Cheltenham (Glos), 26 May and was buried at Swindon (Glos), 31 May 1851; administration of goods granted to 4th Earl of Bandon, 10 June 1884 (estate £8,421);

(8) Hon. Henry Boyle Bernard (1797-1815), born 5 December 1797; an officer in the Horse Guards (Cornet, 1814); killed at the Battle of Waterloo, 26 May 1815;

(9) Hon. Elizabeth Bernard (c.1799-1800); died in infancy and was buried at Ballymodan, 10 January 1800;

(10) Hon. Charles Bernard (b. & d. 1803);

(11) Hon. Charles Ludlow Bernard (1805-61), born 12 April and baptised at Ballymodan, Bandon, 10 May 1805; died unmarried at Thornbury (Co. Cork), 21 January 1861.

He inherited Castle Bernard and Prospect Hall from his father in 1790, and extensively remodelled the house at Castle Bernard. He sold Prospect Hall and his lands at Kinsalebeg in 1825.

He died suddenly on his 75th birthday, 26 November 1830; his will was proved in Dublin, 8 February 1831. His wife died 8 July 1815 and was buried at Ballymodan (Co. Cork).

2nd Earl of Bandon

Bernard, James (1785-1856), 2nd Earl of Bandon. Eldest son of Francis Bernard (1755-1830), 1st Earl of Bandon, and his wife Lady Catherine Henrietta, only daughter of Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon, born 14 June 1785. Educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1805; MA 1806). He was known as Viscount Bernard from 1800 until he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Bandon, 26 November 1830. He was elected Tory MP for Youghal, 1806-07, 1818-20, Co. Cork, 1807-18, and Bandon, 1820-26, 1830, on the interests of his grandfather and uncle, the 2nd and 3rd Earls of Shannon. Lord Lieutenant of Co. Cork, 1842-56; Recorder of Bandon; and an Irish representative peer, 1835-56. President of the Cork Art Union and County Grand Master of the Orange Order. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford (DCL, 1832) and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, 1845, and is said to have made strenuous efforts during the Great Famine to secure relief for the people of Ireland. He married, 13 March 1809 at Cashel Cathedral (Co. Tipp.), Mary Susan Albinia (1787-1870), daughter of the Hon. & Most Rev. Charles Brodrick, Archbishop of Cashel, and had issue: 

(1) Francis Bernard (1810-77), 3rd Earl of Bandon;

(2) Hon. & Rt. Rev. Charles Brodrick Bernard (1811-90) (q.v.);

(3) Hon. Henry Boyle Bernard (1812-95), of Coolmain Castle (Co. Cork), born 6 February and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 7 February 1812; educated at Eton, Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1831) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1834); agent to the Castle Bernard estate; JP for County Cork; Conservative MP for Bandon, 1863-68; an officer in the South Cork Light Infantry militia (later 3rd battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers) (Col., 1854-76; hon. Col., 1876-95); married, 18 January 1848 at St Luke, Cork, Matilda Sophia (c.1827-92), youngest daughter of Lt-Gen. Charles Turner, but had no issue; died 14 March 1895;

(4) Lady Catherine Henrietta Bernard (1813-87), born 11 November and baptised at St James, Paddington, 15 November 1813; lived in London; died unmarried, 20 June, and was buried at Brompton Cemetery, 24 June 1887; will proved in Dublin, 16 October 1893 (effects £21,372);

(5) James Bernard (b. & d. 1815), born 11 June and baptised at St James, Paddington, 27 June 1815; died in infancy, 7 November 1815.

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1830 and remodelled it in the Gothic style.

He died 31 October and was buried at Ballymodan church, Bandon, 7 November 1856, where he was commemorated by a monument. His widow died 23 April and was buried at Bandon, 29 April 1870.

Bernard, Francis (1810-77), 3rd Earl of Bandon. Eldest son of James Bernard (1785-1856), 2nd Earl of Bandon, and his wife Mary Susan, daughter of the Most Rev. the Hon. Charles Brodrick, Archbishop of Cashel, born in London, 3 January, and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 13 October 1810. Educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1827; BA 1830; MA 1834; hon. DCL, 1864). Conservative MP for Bandon, January-July 1831, 1842-56. He was known as Viscount Bernard from 1830 until he succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Bandon, 31 October 1856. A representative peer for Ireland, 1858-77; Lord Lieutenant of Co. Cork, 1874-77. He married, 16 August 1832, at St Nicholas, Brighton (Sussex), Catherine Mary (1811-73), eldest daughter of Thomas Whitmore MP of Apley Park (Shrops.), and had issue:

(1) Lady Mary Catherine Henrietta Bernard (1837-1920), born in London, 2 August and baptised at St Mary, Paddington (Middx), 3 August and again at St Nicholas, Brighton, 7 October 1837; married, 30 July 1863 at Bandon, Col. Richard William Aldworth (1825-99) of Newmarket Court (Co. Cork), High Sheriff of Co. Cork, eldest son of Richard Oliver Aldworth (1794-1887) of Newmarket Court, but had no issue; died 10 January 1920; administration of her goods granted to 4th Earl of Bandon, 3 June 1920 (estate in England, £1,207);

(2) Lady Louisa Albinia Bernard (1841-1928), baptised in Paddington (Middx), 10 April and baptised at St Mary, Paddington, 12 April 1841; lived with her unmarried sisters at 78 Chester Sq., Westminster; died unmarried in London, 25 September 1928, and was buried at East Finchley Cemetery; will proved 12 November 1928 (estate £5,554);

(3) Lady Charlotte Esther Emily Bernard (1843-1934), born in Kensington (Middx), 5 April and was baptised at St Mary, Paddington, 6 April 1843; lived with her unmarried sisters at 78 Chester Sq., Westminster; died unmarried, 13 July and was buried at St Marylebone Cemetery, 17 July 1934; will proved 19 September 1934 (estate £4,501);

(4) Lady Emma Harriet Bernard (1844-1929), born in August and said to have been baptised 26 October 1844; lived with her unmarried sisters at 78 Chester Sq., Westminster; died unmarried in London, 18 October 1929 and was buried at East Finchley Cemetery; will proved 13 December 1929 (estate £6,251);

(5) Lady Adelaide Mary Lucy Bernard (1846-84), said to have been born in Cork and baptised 2 September 1846; married, 11 November 1873 at Ballymodan church, Bandon, as his first wife, Sir Henry Monson de la Poer Beresford-Peirse (1850-1926), 3rd bt., of Bagnall (Co. Waterford) (who m2, 23 January 1886, Henrietta OBE (d. 1926), only daughter of Sir Matthew Smith-Dodsworth, 4th bt., of Newland Park and Thornton Watlass (Yorks), and had further issue one daughter), son and heir of Henry William de la Poer Beresford-Peirse (1820-59) of Bedale and Hutton Bonville (Yorks), and had issue five sons and two daughters; died 29 September 1884 and was buried at Bedale (Yorks);

(6) James Francis Bernard (1850-1924), 4th Earl of Bandon (q.v.);

(7) Lady Kathleen Frances Bernard (1853-1921), born at Castle Bernard, 14 November 1853; married, 2 June 1885 at St Paul, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge (Middx), Alfred William George Gaussen (1855-1910) of Chelsea, son and heir of Frederick Charles Gaussen, barrister-at-law, and had issue one daughter; died 22 February 1921; administration of goods granted to her daughter, 4 August 1921 (estate £2,362).

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1856 and carried out alterations c.1870.

He died 17 February 1877 and was buried at Bandon; his will was proved at Cork 30 April 1877 (effects under £18,000). His wife died 13 December 1873.

4th Earl of Bandon

Bernard, James Francis (1850-1924), 4th Earl of Bandon. Only son of Francis Bernard (1810-77), 3rd Earl of Bandon, and his wife Catherine Mary, eldest daughter of Thomas Whitmore MP of Apley Park (Shrops.), born 12 September 1850. Educated at Eton. ADC to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1874-76 and State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant, 1876-77; High Sheriff of Co. Cork, 1875; Hon. Col. of the Royal Cork Artillery; Chairman of Bandon Board of Guardians and Bandon Town Commissioners; JP for Co. Cork. He succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Bandon, 17 February 1877, and was an Irish representative peer, 1881-1924, who sat on the Conservative benches. Lord Lieutenant of Co. Cork, 1877-1921. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick, 1900. On 21 June 1921 he was kidnapped by armed men who came to burn Castle Bernard, and held captive for 3 weeks before being released; his agent was shot and wounded in his home a few days later. He had the reputation of being a good landlord, and was one of the first to take advantage of the Irish Land Act 1903 to sell land to his tenants. He was a freemason from 1869 and served as Grand Secretary, 1875-95 and Provincial Grand Master for Munster. He married, 22 June 1876 at St Michael, Chester Sq,, Westminster (Middx), the Hon. Georgiana Dorothea Harriet CBE (1853-1942), only child of George Patrick Percy Evans-Freke, 7th Baron Carbery, of Laxton Hall (Northants), but had no issue.

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1877, but the house was burned to the ground by the IRA in 1921. He also owned Coolkelure, Dunmanway (Co. Cork), which became his widow's Irish home.

He died in London, 18 May, and was buried at Laxton (Northants), 29 May 1924; his will was proved 26 September 1924 (estate £105,760). His widow died 29 June and was buried at Laxton, 3 July 1942; her will was proved 30 November 1942 (estate £13,394).

Rt. Rev. & Hon. C.B. Bernard 

Bernard, Hon. & Rt. Rev. Charles Brodrick (1811-90). Second son of James Bernard (1785-1856), 2nd Earl of Bandon, and his wife Mary Susan, daughter of the Most Rev. the Hon. Charles Brodrick, Archbishop of Cashel, born 4 January 1811. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1829; BA 1832; MA 1834; BD and DD, 1866). Ordained deacon, 1835 and priest, 1836. Curate of Desertserges (Co. Cork), 1835-40; rector and prebendary of Kilbrogan, 1840-67; Bishop of Tuam (Co. Galway), Killala and Achonry, 1867-90. He married, 25 July 1843 at St John, Paddington (Middx), Hon. Jane Grace Dorothea (c.1810-92), daughter of Percy Evans-Freke and sister of 7th Lord Carbery, and had issue:

(1) Percy Brodrick Bernard (1844-1912) (q.v.);

(2) James Francis William Charles Boyle Bernard (1847-84), born 22 December and baptised at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath (Som.), 25 December 1847; an officer in the South Cork militia (Lt., 1868; Capt.); married, 25 April 1876 at Ballinasloe (Co. Galway), Emily Georgina (d. 1885), third daughter of Maj. Henry Ireland Gascoigne of Mackney, Ballinasloe, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 31 July 1884; administration of goods granted 12 September 1885 (effects £240).

He lived in the bishop's palace at Tuam.

He died at Tuam, 31 January 1890, but was buried at Bandon; his will was proved 26 March 1890 (effects £19,223). His widow died 5 June 1892; administration of her goods was granted 23 September 1892 (effects £6,355).

Bernard, Percy Brodrick (1844-1912). Elder son of Rt. Rev. the Hon. Charles Brodrick Bernard (1811-90), Bishop of Tuam (Co. Galway) and his wife, the Hon. Jane Grace Dorothea, daughter of Percy Evans-Freke, born 17 September 1844. Educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1863; BA 1868). An officer in the South Cork Light Infantry militia (later the 3rd battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers) (Capt. 1866; retired 1882); JP and DL for Co. Galway. Private Secretary to the Duke of Abercorn and Duke of Marlborough as Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, 1874-80; Unionist MP for Bandon, 1880, but resigned two months after his election. He stood for parliament again in the South County Dublin constituency, 1906, but withdrew before the poll in favour of Walter Long, Chief Secretary for Ireland. A director of the Dublin United Tramways Co., the Great Southern & Western Railway Co. and the Grand Canal Co. in Ireland. He was a freemason from 1866. He married 1st, 11 April 1872 at St Paul, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge (Middx), Isabel Emma Beatrice (d. 1876), daughter of John Newton Lane, of Kings Bromley Manor (Staffs); 2nd, 6 February 1880 at Tuam Cathedral (Co. Galway), Mary Lissey (1850-98), only daughter and heiress of Denis Kirwan of Castle Hacket (Co Galway); and 3rd, 2 June 1900 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Evangeline (1867-1950), second daughter of Henry Hoare of Iden Park, Staplehurst (Kent), a partner in Hoare's Bank, and had issue:

(1.1) Ronald Percy Hamilton Bernard (1875-1921) (q.v.);

(2.1) Frances Mary Bernard (1880-1970), born 18 November 1880; married 1st, 22 February 1900 (div. 1916 on the grounds of his adultery) at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), George Arthur Paley (1874-1941) of Ampton Hall (Suffk), son of John Paley of Langcliffe (Yorks) and Ampton, and had issue two sons; married 2nd, 28 September 1916 at St Peter, Drogheda (Co. Louth), Major Henry Hastings Brooke (1882-1920) of Ardeen, Shillelagh (Co. Wicklow), younger son of Rt. Hon. Francis Theophilus Brooke; died in London, 3 March 1970; will proved 15 January 1971 (estate £910);

(2.2) Sir Denis John Charles Kirwan Bernard (1882-1956), born 22 October 1882; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1902; Lt., 1906; Maj., 1916; Lt-Col., 1917; Col., 1923; Brig., 1931; Maj-Gen., 1933; retired as Lt-Gen., 1939), who served in the First World War and was awarded the DSO, 1917; on general staff in India, 1930-34; ADC to King George V, 1932; Director of Recruiting and Organisation, War Office, 1934-36; Col. of Royal Ulster Rifles, 1937-47; Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Bermuda, 1939-41; DL for Co. Galway; appointed CMG 1919 and KCB, 1939; inherited Castle Hacket (Co. Galway) from his half-brother in 1921; died unmarried, 25 August 1956;

(2.3) Mary Winifred Bernard (1886-1960), born 27 October 1886; married, 27 July 1920 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster, Lt-Col. Robert Leach Galloway DSO (1884-1970) of Lough Gur Grange, Kilmallock (Co. Limerick), son of Col. Frank Galloway of Leamington Spa (Warks), but had no issue; died 21 April 1960; will proved in Dublin, 30 January 1961 (estate £1,166);

(2.4) Percy Arthur Ernald Bernard (1889-1922), born 17 February 1889; an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps (2nd Lt.; Lt., 1916; retired as Capt., 1919) who served as an driver with a motor ambulance unit in the First World War; died at Montana (Switzerland), 22 February 1922; will proved 23 May 1922 (estate £2,978);

(3.1) Morogh Wyndham Percy Bernard (1902-77), born 5 February 1902; educated at Wellington College; married, 15 April 1929 at St Baldred, North Berwick (East Lothian), Hon. Diana Pearl (1902-79), second daughter of Henry Charles Clement Dundas (1873-1935), 7th Viscount Melville, and had issue one daughter; lived at The Old Glebe House, Shankhill (Co. Dublin); died 16 February 1977. 

He lived at Castle Hackett (Co Galway), and also had a house called Collegues at Booterstown (Co. Dublin).
He died 18 July 1912 at Booterstown (Co. Dublin) and was buried at Tuam; his will was proved at Tuam, 8 October 1912 (estate £15,905). His first wife died 1 May 1876. His second wife died 1 August 1898; her will was proved at Tuam, 4 October 1898 (effects £9,402). His widow married 2nd, 5 November 1919 at St. Catherine's, nr. Bath (Som.), Hon. Charles Hedley Strutt (1849-1926) of Blunt's Hall, Witham (Essex), second son of John James Strutt (1796-1873), 2nd Baron Rayleigh, lived latterly at Sunningdale (Berks), and died 17 February 1950; her will was proved 29 April 1950 (estate £28,426).

Bernard, Ronald Percy Hamilton (1875-1921). Only son of Percy Brodrick Bernard (1844-1912) and his first wife, Isabel Emma Beatrice, daughter of John Newton Lane of Bromley Manor (Staffs), born in Dublin, 18 March 1875 and baptised at Castleknock (Co. Dublin). Educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. An officer in the Rifle Brigade (2nd Lt., 1895; Lt., 1898; Capt., 1901; retired 1910; returned to army, 1915; Maj., 1916; retired at Lt-Col.), who served in the Boer War. He married, 5 January 1904 at St Paul, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge (Middx), Lettice Mina (1880-1969), daughter and co-heiress of Capt. Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (1854-1913) of The Hatch, Bray (Berks), and had issue:

(1) twin, Percy Ronald Gardener Bernard (1904-79), 5th Earl of Bandon (q.v.);

(2) twin, Hon. Charles Brodrick Amyas Bernard (1904-77) of Kelsale (Suffk), born 30 August 1904; educated at Wellington College; granted style and precedence of an earl's son, 1925; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1924; Lt., 1926; Capt., 1935; A/Maj., 1939), who served in the Second World War and was mentioned in despatches, but was cashiered following a court martial, 26 November 1940; married, 13 July 1937, the Hon Ursula Margaret (1910-63), daughter of Odo Richard Vivian (1875-1934), 3rd Baron Swansea, but had no issue; died 28 February 1977 and was buried at Kelsale; will proved 28 April 1977 (estate £423,140);

(3) Lady Cynthia Lettice Margaret Bernard (1905-2000), born 5 December 1905; granted style and precedence of an earl's daughter, 1925; amateur pilot (licence, 1947); married 1st, 21 July 1925 (div. 1936 on the grounds of her adultery with Prof. Archibald M. Low) at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Major Francis Christisson Darby Tothill RA (1901-92) (who m2, 1936, Muriel Frances Butt (1908-79)), son of Adm. Sir Hugh Tothill of Bradford on Avon (Wilts), and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 9 December 1947, Air Comm. Lionel Guy Stanhope Payne, CBE, MC (1894-1965), son of Peter George Stanhope Payne, barrister at law; died 15 May 2000; will proved 7 July 2000.

He lived at Bury Green House, Waltham Cross (Essex).

He died 2 February 1921 and was buried at Cheshunt Cemetery (Herts); his will was proved 7 May 1921 (estate £1,991). His widow married 2nd, 27 May 1922, Hon. Charles Christopher Josceline Littleton DSO (1872-1950), of Kelsale (Suffk); she died 6 December 1969 and her will was proved 26 March 1970 (estate £43,461).

5th Earl of Bandon 

Bernard, Percy Ronald Gardener (k/a Paddy) (1904-79), 5th Earl of Bandon. Elder twin son of Ronald Percy Bernard (1875-1921) and his wife Lettice Mina, daughter and co-heiress of Capt. Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget of The Hatch, Bray (Berks), born at Gillingham (Kent), 30 August 1904. Educated at Wellington College, the RAF College, Cranwell, and RAF Staff College (in 1938). He succeeded his kinsman as 5th Earl of Bandon, 18 May 1924. An officer in the Royal Air Force (Pilot Offr, 1924; Flyg Offr, 1926; F/Lt., 1930; Sq-Ldr, 1936; Wing-Cdr., 1940; Gp-Capt., 1941; Air-Comm, 1944; Air Vice-Marshal, 1952; Air Marshal, 1957; Air Chief Marshal, 1959; retired 1964), who served in the Second World War and was awarded the DSO, 1940. Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, 1945-48; Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Training), 1953-55; Commander-in-Chief, 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1955-57; Commander-in-Chief, Far East Air Forces, 1957-60; Commander of Allied Air Forces in Central Europe, 1961-63. He was appointed CB, 1945; CVO, 1953; KBE, 1957; and GBE, 1960. A man of exceptional leadership skills and moral courage, he came to epitomize the man that young RAF officers wanted their senior leaders to be, but his irreverent and non-conformist attitude and his schoolboy humour often found him in hot water with his superiors. He married 1st, 28 February 1933 (div. 1946) at Nairobi Cathedral (Kenya), Maybel Elizabeth (k/a Betty) (1905-87), daughter of Raymond Playfair of Nairobi, banker and 2nd, 2 October 1946, Lois (d. 1999), daughter of Francis Russell of Victoria (Australia) and formerly wife of Sq-Ldr. Frederick Arthur White, and had issue:

(1.1) Lady Jennifer Jane Bernard (1935-2010), born 30 April 1935; co-heir of Castle Bernard; died unmarried, 3 June 2010;

(1.2) Lady Frances Elizabeth Bernard (b. 1943), born 4 February 1943; co-heir of Castle Bernard; married, 1 April 1967 at Padworth (Berks), Paul Mark Carter (b. 1940) of Hill House, Midgham (Berks), accountant, and had issue one daughter.

He inherited the Castle Bernard estate on the death of his kinsman, the 4th Earl of Bandon, in 1924, but little else. The house was then in ruins following the burning in 1921, and he used the compensation of £123,000 which he received to build a small house behind the ruins.

He died in Cork, 8 February 1979. His first wife married 2nd, 20 October 1965, Sir Reginald Culcheth Holcroft (1899-1978), 2nd bt, of Pulverbatch (Shrops.); she died 8 August 1987. His widow died 16 October 1999.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 1967, p. 161; G. Bennett, The history of Bandon, and the principal towns in the West Riding of County Cork, 1869; E.M. Johnston-Liik, History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 172-78; F. Keohane, The buildings of Ireland: Cork - city and county, 2020, pp. 290-91; 

https://theirishaesthete.com/2019/05/06/bandon/

http://kinsalebeg.com/chapters/houses/houses.html;

https://www.dia.ie/works/view/56267/building/CO.+CORK%2C+CASTLE+BERNARD.

Location of archives

Bernard family, Earls of Bandon: estate ledgers, 1719-1888 [Cork County Archives, U137]

It is likely that most of the family papers were destroyed in the burning of Castle Bernard in 1921. 

Coat of arms

Argent, on a bend azure, three escallops of the field.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide evidence of the relationship between Francis Bernard (d. 1659) and the Barnards of Margaretting?
• Can anyone provide an image of Bassingbourn Hall before its demolition in the 19th century (not the farmhouse which now bears that name)?
• Can anyone provide an image of Michael Shanahan's neo-classical Castle Bernard before it was altered in the mid 19th century?
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 10 October 2024 and updated 11 October 2024.