Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne
| The Lord Oranmore and Browne | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 October 1901 |
| Died | 7 August 2002 (aged 100) |
| Title |
Baron Oranmore and Browne Baron Mereworth |
| Tenure | 30 June 1927 – 7 August 2002 (75 years, 38 days) |
| Spouse(s) | Mildred Egerton (m.1925–1936) Oonagh Guinness (m.1936–1950) Constance Stevens (m.1951–2002) |
| Parents |
Geoffrey Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne Olwen Verena Ponsonby |
Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne, 2nd Baron Mereworth (21 October 1901 – 7 August 2002), was the longest sitting British peer and legislator.
He was born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family as The Hon. Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne in 1901, the eldest son of The 3rd Baron Oranmore and Browne and Lady Olwen Verena Ponsonby, daughter of The 8th Earl of Bessborough. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford before joining the Grenadier Guards.
In 1927 he succeeded his father, who died in a car accident in Southborough, Kent, and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Mereworth, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (the older Barony of Oranmore and Browne, in the Peerage of Ireland, did not entitle its bearer to a seat in the Lords), although he primarily used his Irish title. He had the rare distinction of sitting in the House of Lords for 75 years, the longest by any peer, and during that time was one of the few peers to have never spoken in the House.
In 1930 the English residence of the Browne family, Mereworth Castle, was sold and he went to live in his Irish residence, Castle MacGarrett, just outside Claremorris in County Mayo. Castle MacGarrett, its 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) and 150 employees gave him the chance to breed race horses and farm on a large scale. Lord Oranmore and Browne was also an aviator.
In 1939, Oranmore and Browne tried to join the British Army, but he was told that, at 38, he would be more useful concentrating on farming; as a result his war service was in neutral Ireland with the Irish reserve force, the Local Defence Force, in County Mayo.
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