Earl of Roden

Earl of Roden is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1771 for Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Viscount Jocelyn. This branch of the Jocelyn family descends from the 1st Viscount, prominent Irish lawyer and politician Robert Jocelyn, the son of Thomas Jocelyn, third son of Sir Robert Jocelyn, 1st Baronet, of Hyde Hall (see below). He notably served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1739 to 1756. In 1743 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Newport, of Newport, and in 1755 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Jocelyn, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. He represented Old Leighlin in the Irish House of Commons and served as Auditor-General of Ireland. In 1770 he was created Earl of Roden, of High Roding in the County of Tipperary, in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1770 he also succeeded his first cousin once removed as fifth Baronet of Hyde Hall.

Lord Roden was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dundalk and served as an Irish Representative Peer in the British House of Lords between 1800 and 1820. His son, the third Earl, represented County Louth in the British House of Commons and was Auditor-General of the Exchequer in Ireland. In 1821 he was created Baron Clanbrassil, of Hyde Hall in the County of Hertford, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He was a leading figure in the Protestant Second Reformation. His grandson, the fourth Earl, served in the second Conservative administration of Benjamin Disraeli as a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1874 to 1880.

He died at an early age and was succeeded by his uncle, the fifth Earl. When he died in 1897 the barony of Clanbrassil became extinct. He was succeeded in the Irish titles by his first cousin, the sixth Earl. He was the son of the Hon. John Jocelyn, fourth son of the second Earl. On his death the titles were inherited by his younger brother, the seventh Earl. His son, the eighth Earl, sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer between 1919 and 1956. As of 2010 the titles are held by his grandson, the tenth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1993.

The Jocelyn Baronetcy, of Hyde Hall in the County of Hertford, was created in the Baronetage of England in 1665 for Robert Jocelyn. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baronet. This line of the family failed on the death of his younger son, the fourth Baronet, in 1778. The late Baronet was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the first Earl of Roden. For further history of the baronetcy, see above.

The previous English family seat (now sold), Hyde Hall, is close to the town of Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire and there is a brass to Sir Ralph Josselyn, Lord Mayor of London (1464 and 1476) in the church there.

The Irish family seat of the Earls of Roden was Tollymore Park, Bryansford, Co Down, Northern Ireland. The estate was sold to the Ministry of Agriculture by the 8th Earl between 1930 and 1941 and is now Tollymore Forest Park, open to the public and covering some 630 hectares. Tollymore House no longer stands, having been pulled down in 1952 after having been requisitioned for military purposes during World War II. The present Earl and Countess of Roden, however, still retain a private family residence at Tollymore.

Descendents of the Earls of Roden are also known to be living in the area of Beechlawn, Coolock on the northside of Dublin. The Earls of Roden were associated with the County Louth town of Dundalk for over three centuries, and in July 2006 sold the freehold of the town by auction.