John Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Farnham

Who was John Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Farnham?

John James Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Farnham was an Irish Representative peer and politician.

He was the son of Barry Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham and Margaret King. He was known as Shane Rua due to his striking head of red hair. In 1784, he married Grace Cuffe, daughter of Thomas Cuffe, however, they had no children. He succeeded as 2nd Earl of Farnham, 2nd Viscount Farnham and 4th Baron Farnham on the 7 October 1800, also inheriting the Farnham estate in Cavan. He commissioned Francis Johnston, a Dublin-based architect, to design an extension to Farnham House.

Maxwell sat as a Member of Parliament for Cavan Borough from 1780 until 1783 and again from 1793 until 1800. He was elected a representative peer on the 2 March 1816. On his death in 1823, the Earldom and the Viscountcy became extinct, whilst the Barony and the Farnham estate passed to his cousin John Maxwell-Barry