Irish philanthropist and politician, born at St. Anne’s, Clontarf, on the 1st of November 1840, the eldest son of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st bart., head of the famous brewing firm of Guinness. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Dublin, and in 1868 succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father. He then became head of the firm of Guinness, but shortly afterwards retired. He entered Parliament in 1874 as Conservative member for the city of Dublin, holding the seat till 1880, when he was raised to the peerage. In 1891 he bought St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, and converted it into a charming park, which he presented to the city. He also bought up various blocks of slum dwellings and converted them into model tenements, with the object of improving the conditions of the poorer classes of Dublin. Lord Ardilaun, who married in 1871 Lady Olivia White, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bantry, died at Clontarf on the 20th of January 1915.
