The Irish standard., 1893-11-04
LORD DUNRAVEN.
The Aristoc1atic Sportsman Who
is Owner of the Valkyrie is
an Irishman.
DESCENDANT OF IRISH KINGS.

DESCENDANT OF IRISH KINGS,
A Description Of the Beautiful Dun
raven Mansion Near the City
of Limerick.
Certainly one of the men most talked
about during the past few weeks has been
the Earl Of Dunraven, the owner of the
fast yacht Valkyrie, which came across
the water to try to wreet from US the
Americas cup. The great international
yacht race has set all the world agog, and
naturally the owner of the challenging
boat has come in Tor good deal of noto-
rety. The newspapers have dealt gener-
ouely with Lord Dunra ems personality
at least in the matter of space-but in
several important instances their mac
curacy has been simply marvellous, says
the Boston Republic. The American
public have been misled On many import
ant points concerning this distinguished
and gallant sportsman. Nor has word
been said concerning his beautiful and
historic home, which is to the full as pic
,turesque study as it's master. The
historians of the hour have all along in
sisted that the noble earl was an Eng
lishman. He Is nothing of the sort, as
the article will proceed to show. He is
Irish to the core, as was also another no
less popular cup challenger, Lieutenant
Hem, owner of the Galatea.
Lord Dunraven became popular at
once on account of his many sterling
qualities. First of all, his truly sports
manlike attitude during the recent COM
petition for the blue ribbon OF the sea
has won the respect and esteem OF all
Americans, aud 1t is certainly not too
much to say that Of the various challeng-
ers who have in past years sailed their
yachts in these waters for the Americas
cup the owner of the Valkyrie is one of
the most popular.
AS was said above, the newspapers
have been wont to speak Of the earl as
an English1nan. When he landed IN New
York the discerning reporter, in record
ing his first Impressions of the noble
yachtman, said that he had the usual
tlorid complexion of an Englishman. The
reporter further, and to his astonishment,
discovered that his lordship displayed q
quite unusual appreciation OF a Joke;
that is, of course, for an Englishman.
Other writer's informed us that Dunraven
rep, esented in his person the best type OF
an English nobleman. And 80 it goes on
ad nauseam. Day by day additional de-
lightfu] traits hitherto all unsuspected
of Enelishmen are discovered by the in
defatigable reporter in the course OF his
observations of Lord Dunrayen. In fact,
the latter has created such sensation
and induced such an endless stream OF
favorab comment that it really seems
very timely to investigate. A little OF
the family history of the earl will inter
est our readers and surprise many Of
them.
Sir Thomas Wyndham Quln, Earl of
Dunraven ard Mount Earl, is the repre-
sentative of an Irish family of great an
tiquity. The Earls Of Dunraven are
among the very few members OF the Irish
nobility who claim purely Celtic de-
scent. The greater number of the Irish
peers descended from Norman English
ancestry, and though many centuries OF
adoption have made them more Irish
than the Irish themselves, their origin is
identified with foreign invasion. But in
the case of the Dunravens it is quite diff
ferent. Like the great family Of O'Brien,
they trace their origin directly from Con-
nae Gas, son of Gillium Olum, who was
King of Ireland somewhere about 24O A.
d. In ancient times they were chiefs OF
the clan of Hy Ifearnan and had their
stronghold at Inchiquin, in the county of
Glare, where the O'Briens, Earls OF In
chiquin, reside to this day Inchiquin
received it's name from the Quins, now
Earls of Dunraven, who then called
themselves ''O'Quin." The family name
of Coyne has the same origin as Quin,
and is really another way of spelling the
latter.
The owner of the Valkyrie is the lineal
descendant of Donogh Quin OF Kilmal
lock, in the county Of Cork, who welded
the daughter and heiress Of the famous
O'Riordans, who as far back as the fifth
century were powerful territorial race
in Limerick. Prior to the union of Great
Britain and Ireland, in 1900, the Gums
were prominent among the landed gentry
Of Ireland, and baronetcy existed in
the family. In the latter year they were
granted peerage under the title OF
Baron Adsre, but 40 the peerage was an
irish one only it did not carry with it 4