Blayney Townley-Balfour (Belturbet MP) explained

Blayney Townley-Balfour (28 May 1769 – 22 December 1856)^[1] was an Irish politician and member of the Protestant Ascendancy.^[2]

The Townley-Balfours were an Irish branch of Clan Balfour.^[3] His grandfather, also named Blayney Townley-Balfour, was a member of the Irish House of Commons (MP) for Carlingford. The grandson was MP for Belturbet in 1800.^[4] He owned a large flour mill outside Slane.^[5] He commissioned architect Francis Johnston to rebuild Townley Hall, the family seat between Drogheda and Slane. He was a magistrate for counties Louth and Meath, High Sheriff of Louth in 1792, and deputy Lord Lieutenant of Louth in 1852.

Blayney Townley-Balfour married Lady Florence Cole, daughter of William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen; they had ten children.^[6] His eldest son, also Blayney Townley-Balfour (born 1799), was Governor of the Bahamas from 1833 to 1835.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Balfour, Blayney Townley. Dictionary of Irish Architects. 9 June 2014.
2. Book: Burke. Sir Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. 1871. Harrison. 51. 28 September 2017. en.
3. Book: Burke. John-Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland and Scotland, Extinct, Dormant and in Abeyance.. 1846. Henry Colburh. 634. 28 September 2017. en.
4. Book: Johnston-Liik, E. M.. MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. 10 June 2014. 2006. Ulster Historical Foundation. 9781903688601. 127.
5. Book: Samuel, Lewis. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. 1837. Slane.
6. Book: Burke, Sir Bernard. A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852. 9 June 2014. 1852. Colburn and Company. 49–50. Balfour of Townley Hall.