Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath

Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath (1583–1642) was an Irish nobleman and politician of the early seventeenth century. Imprisoned for plotting against the English Crown in 1607, he soon obtained a royal pardon, and thereafter was always considered to be a reliable supporter of the Government. His death resulted from his refusal to join the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

He was the eldest son of Christopher Nugent, 6th Baron Delvin, and Lady Mary FitzGerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and his wife Mabel Browne, Countess of Kildare. He succeeded his father as seventh Baron Delvin in 1602.

It is not surprising that the Crown regarded him with suspicion: when he was born his father was in custody on charges of treason, and was to die nineteen years later in prison, once more suspected of plotting treason. Initially Richard seems to have acted cautiously: he acknowledged the Crown's authority, and he was knighted at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin in 1603. The Crown's suspicions about his loyalty were fully justified: Delvin was implicated in the conspiracy which led to the Flight of the Earls in 1607 and was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. Due to lax security a servant was able to smuggle a rope into his cell, with which he escaped through the window and fled for safety to Cloughoughter Castle, a lake fortress in County Cavan.

His escape coincided with the arrival of Sir Cahir O'Doherty in Dublin to clear up a misunderstanding in which it had mistakenly been believed O'Doherty had been plotting an uprising. Delvin's escape shattered the government's confidence even in loyal Gaelic lords like O'Doherty, who were suspected of being part of a conspiracy with Delvin and others. The following year an aggrieved O'Doherty and his followers burnt the town of Derry, launching O'Doherty's Rebellion.

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