 On 23 April 1759 Lord Athenry was created Earl of Louth in the Peerage of Ireland, a title previously held by John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth, a cousin of his remote ancestor Rickard de Bermingham.He married, firstly, Jane Bingham, the daughter of Sir John Bingham, 5th Baronet.and Anne Vesey, in November 1745.