ANTRIM, Rt Hon 9th Earl (1935 - 2021)

[Henry W]

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/9th-earl-of-antrim-passes-away-after-short-illness-40678336.html

Tributes have been paid to Alexander McDonnell, 9th Earl of Antrim, who died yesterday [21 July].   [...]

Alexander Randal Mark McDONNELL, 9th Earl of ANTRIM, was the son of Randal John Somerled McDONNELL, 8th Earl of ANTRIM KBE (1911 - 1977) and Angela Christina SYKES (1911 - 1984), dau of Sir Tatton SYKES, 6th Baronet (1879 - 1919).  He was further scion of the GREY earls, the TALBOT earls, the PORTLAND dukes, the DEVONSHIRE dukes, etc., etc.

He m. 1stly 1963 (div 1974) Sarah Anne Elizabeth HARMSWORTH, scion of (not descended from) the ROTHERMERE viscounts, the HARMSWOTH barons and the baronets of that name, and scion of (descended from) the BOOTHBY baronets. With her he had 1 son and 2 dau.

He m. 2ndly 1977 Elizabeth Hannah SACHER and with her had one dau.

He is succeeded by his only son Randal Alexander St John McDONNELL, 10th Earl of ANTRIM, though he is yet to prove his succession. He m. 2004 Aurora GUNN, and has a son Alexander, who is now ha, and a dau.

[sven_me...@web.de]

I can find no Hansard entry

[Henry W]

Both the Antrim earldom and Dunluce viscountcy are in the Peerage of Ireland, so he was never entitled to sit in the House of Lords, even before 1999.

[sven_me...@web.de]

Thanks

[www.maltagenealogy.com]

The new Earl was born 2 July 1967.

[Richard R]

From the Times of 27 July 2021: ANTRIM Alexander Randal Mark McDonnell, Earl of Antrim, died on 21st July 2021, aged 86, after a short illness. Much-loved husband, father and grandfather. Family funeral to be held at Glenarm. All inquiries to J Stevenson & Son...

[Richard R]

Obit in the Telegraph of 6 Aug 2021:
E X T R A C T
The Earl of Antrim, authority on art who served as Keeper of Conservation at the Tate Gallery for 20 years – obituary
He helped to oversee a period of huge expansion at the Tate, while in his restoration work he had a particular affinity for British masters
The 14th Earl of Antrim, who has died aged 86, was an acknowledged expert on many aspects of art and a leading authority on the restoration of paintings.
...Alexander Randal Mark McDonnell was born in London on February 3 1935, the eldest of three surviving children of the 13th Earl of Antrim, later an energetic chairman of the National Trust who also launched Enterprise Neptune to help preserve the British coastline. Alexander’s grandfather had died before he was born, so he was Viscount Dunluce from birth.
...Alexander’s mother Angela (daughter of Sir Mark Sykes of Sledmere) was a talented professional sculptor, cartoonist and illustrator who redecorated Glenarm with her painted interpretations of McDonnell family history and classical mythology, as well as sculpting the nine planets as caryatids in the hall.
The McDonnells were Catholic Highland Scots who fared well during the Ulster plantation period under the leadership of their warrior-like chieftain Sorley Boy McDonnell, whose son was created Earl of Antrim in 1620. Their estates once extended to some 330,000 acres, but were later vastly reduced by gambling and the Irish Land Acts.
On the outbreak of war, Alexander’s mother took the children to Glenarm, where Alexander ran riot with the gardener’s son Jackie Wilson, whose nickname for him of “Lordie” stuck throughout their lifelong friendship. When Jackie (later a successful retailer but before that a lorry driver) married, the local paper ran the headline “Viscount Attends Lorry Driver’s Wedding”.
After his father made over Glenarm to him, he moved back to Northern Ireland in 1969, combining running the estate with working as a conservator in the Ulster Museum in Belfast. But the worsening Troubles soon took him back to London, where he resumed work at the Tate in 1971 and succeeded Stefan Slabcynski as Keeper of Conservation four years later.
...Having finally taken the title of Earl of Antrim – he decided to do so with the toss of a coin – he subsequently threw his energies into such interests as the Fishmongers’ Company, Ulster Television and the Northern Salmon Company, having earlier made Glenarm over to his son Randal.
He married first, in 1963, Sarah Harmsworth; they had a son and two daughters. That marriage was dissolved in 1974. He married secondly, in 1977, Elizabeth Sacher; they had a daughter. He is succeeded in the earldom by his son.
The Earl of Antrim, born February 3 1935, died July 21 2021
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/08/05/earl-antrim-authority-art-served-keeper-conservation-tate-gallery/

[colinp]

From the House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings 5 January 2022:

Earldom of Antrim in the Peerage of Ireland The Lord Chancellor reported that Randal Alexander St John McDonnell had established his claim to the Earldom of Antrim in the Peerage of Ireland.