 He gained the rank of Colonel in the service of the Royal Engineers.Between 1872 and 1874, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for County Galway, having unseated the elected MP, John Philip Nolan, on petition; the case was one of the most controversial Irish cases of its time and permanently damaged the reputation of the judge, William Keogh.He held the office of Justice of the Peace for Westminster, London, Buckinghamshire, and Middlesex.