The Brabazons of Kilruddery Co Wicklow: The Earls of Meath

From a fantastical beginning amongst the pivotal battle of Saxon and Norman, the line of Jacques le Barbancon has continued to the present day. After several centuries of steady growth in Surrey and Leicestershire, the family fortunes blossomed when Henry VIII dispatched the Machiavellian Sir William Brabazon to Ireland as Vice-Treasurer. He established the family at Kilruddery and his grandson was created 1st Earl of Meath in 1627. Over the next three hundred years, the family consolidated its influence in Wicklow, Ireland and the wider world of the British Empire. A strong sense of philanthropy, evident since the establishment of the Meath Hospital in the 1750s, became the guiding force of the 12th Earl and his Countess during the reigns of Queen Victoria and Edward VII. The father and grandfather of the present Earl were distinguished war heroes and this close knit Wicklow family continues to generate characters of great charm and generosity.