DE LA POER, Edmond James de Poher (1841-1915), of Gurteen le Poer, Kilsheelan, co. Waterford

Edmond De La Poer inherited an estate of more than 13,000 acres at Gurteen, Co. Waterford from his father, John William Power, MP for Dungarvan, 1837 and County Waterford, 1837-40. As landlords, his family was reputed to be ‘so identified with the people that, judging from social intercourse, and from conduct elicited on trying occasions, it would be difficult to say, without reference to property, whether they belonged to the gentry or the farmer class’.1Liverpool Mercury, 3 Feb. 1860. De La Poer was claimant to the barony of Le Power and Coroghmore, being the established heir of Sir Richard Power (cr. peer 1535), whose descendant, Colonel John Power, had been attainted in 1691.2When his son asserted the claim in 1922, the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords stated that but for the outlawry of his ancestor he would be entitled to succeed to the barony. See The Times, 6, 10 Mar. 1922. A devout Catholic, De La Poer was appointed a papal count in 1864 and served as a private chamberlain to Pope Pius IX.

Having only joined the Liberal ranks in October 1866, to support the election of the Hon. Charles White for Tipperary, De La Poer was adopted as a candidate a vacancy at County Waterford the following month.3Freeman’s Journal, 19 Nov. 1866. Although the Conservative press alleged that his family had supported his opponent, Walter Cecil Talbot, at the 1859 general election,4It was reported that Nicholas Mahon Power, the sitting Liberal member, had stood down partly ‘in consequence of the desertion from the popular ranks of the interest of the Gurteen … estates’: The Times, 13 May 1859. he attracted the support of the major Liberal landowners of the county, including the 7^th duke of Devonshire, Lord Stuart de Decies and Lord Cremorne.5Belfast News-letter, 20 Nov. 1866; Freeman’s Journal, 12 Nov. 1866; The Times, 16 Nov. 1866. In spite of his political inexperience, he reportedly created a strong impression with ‘a short rattling speech’ before a crowd of 10,000 at Carrick-on-Suir, which was performed ‘admirably, every point clear, explicit, and convincing’. He promised to support disestablishment and denominational education, including a charter and endowment for the Catholic University. He also favoured a comprehensive and equitable adjustment of landlord-tenant relations to provide greater security for tenants and compensate them for improving their holdings. While reserving to himself a measure of independence, he pledged his support to the Liberal party, but stated that he would not hesitate to support any measure that would ‘advance the welfare of Ireland’.6Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Nov. 1866; Freeman’s Journal, 19 Nov., 27 Dec. 1866. His family’s long-standing role as ‘social mediators’ between the ‘old ascendant landlords and the occupiers of the soil’, coupled with overwhelming support from the local Catholic clergy, ensured his return, albeit after a violent and controversial poll.7Freeman’s Journal, 26 Nov., 19 Dec. 1866; Liverpool Mercury, 3 Feb. 1860.

De La Poer voted for the abolition of church rates in March 1867, the amendment of the parliamentary oath for Catholic members, and a committee to examine the temporalities and privileges of the Irish Church that May. He largely approved of the Liberal amendments to the Conservatives’ reform bill that June, and, with respect to the proposed abolition of religious tests for Oxford University, he favoured extending the measure to Cambridge University. He consistently backed Liberal amendments to the Irish reform bill in 1868, including the ballot, the joint return of two members to represent Dublin University and the Queen’s University, and adjustments to the occupation franchise.

In March 1868 De La Poer joined a deputation to the chancellor of exchequer calling for the establishment of a national department of science and art in Ireland.8PP 1868-69 (4130) (4103-I) xxiv. 1, 43. Speaking upon a motion to inquire into the state of Ireland later that month, he advocated the disestablishment of the Irish church, holding it to be ‘a disgrace to liberal and enlightened England to continue to support a Church established by the sword and maintained against the wishes of the people’. He duly supported Gladstone’s motion on disestablishment and the subsequent established church (Ireland) bill, which sought to suspend new appointments.9Hansard, 16 Mar. 1868, vol. 190, c.1730; 23 Mar. 1868, vol. 191, cc.32-5; PP 1867-68 (117) ii. 441. After being returned unopposed in 1868, he consistently supported Gladstone’s bill to disestablish the Irish church, and endorsed the Liberal’s successful Irish land and peace preservation bills in 1870.

Notwithstanding his support for these initiatives, Le Poer appears to have been an infrequent visitor to the division lobby. While still serving as an MP, he enlisted in the Papal Forces in 1870, served in the ambulance during the Carlist war in 1872, and resided in Rome in 1873. He was absent for the ministerial defeat over the Irish universities bill that March and accepted the Chiltern Hundreds in June.10PP 1873 (C.772) lxxv. 661. La Poer retired to the management of his estate, where he was a keen horse rider and bicyclist.11Pall Mall Gazette, 12 Mar. 1873; The Times, 26 June 1873; Who Was Who (3rd edn., 1935), 190. He died in London on 30 August 1915 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Captain John William Rivallon De La Poer (1882-1939), who served as High Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant for Co. Waterford.12The Times, 31 Aug. 1915, 28 Mar. 1939; F.C. Burnand, The Catholic’s Who’s Who and Yearbook 1908, 107; Stenton, Who’s Who of British MPs, i, 106. His cousin, Richard Power of Tramore, was Home Rule MP for Waterford City, 1874-91.