John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel, 1740-1828

John Foster, b. Collon, Co. Louth, 1740. Irish Politician. Entered the Irish House of Commons in 1761 as member for Dunleer, Co. Louth. Succeeded to family seat for Co. Louth in 1768, which he represented continuously until his elevation to the UK peerage in 1821 as Baron Oriel. Served in a number of key offices including Chairman of the Committee of Supply and Ways and Means, 1777-84, Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, 1784-5, 1804-6 and 1807-11, and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, 1785-1800. Opposed Catholic Emancipation and was an influential opponent of the Act of Union. d. Collon, Co. Louth, 1828. Sources: Concise Dictionary of Irish Biography, John S. Crone (Dublin, 1928); http://proni.nics.gov.uk/records/private/fosmass.htm#speaker

From the guide to the Foster Pamphlet Collection, 1761, (Queen's University, Belfast)