Parsons

Earl of Rosse

Name	Description
Parsons	The Parsons were a family of Elizabethan settlers. Richard Parsons settled as Birr in the early 17th century and his nephew Laurence Parsons of Birr Castle was made a baronet in 1677. Laurence Parsons was created Earl of Rosse (of the second creation) in 1806. In the mid 19th century the Earl's county Tipperary property was mainly located in the parishes of Loughkeen and Kilbarron, barony of Lower Ormond but also in the parish of Cloneen, barony of Middlethird. In the 1870s he owned 2,633 acres in county Tipperary and over 22,000 acres in King's County (Offaly). In 2008 the Irish Manuscripts Commission published a calendar, compiled by A.P.W. Malcomson, of the Rosse Estate Papers which are still retained at Birr Castle by the family.