MacDermott, Sir Terence

MacDermott, Sir Terence (d. p. 1699), Jacobite and lord mayor of Dublin. His life remains largely obscure, but his family were apparently from Co. Louth, moving to Dublin towards the end of the seventeenth century; he himself was a successful merchant in the city. He had at least two sons, Terence and Andrew. MacDermott, along with his son Terence, became an aldermen of Dublin under James II (qv) c.1687. Enrolled on to the franchise with his son Andrew on 15 April 1688, MacDermott was MP for Dublin city in the Jacobite parliament of 1689. On 31 March 1689 he was elected lord mayor of Dublin, and on 29 September 1689 was sworn in as mayor in succession to Sir Michael Creagh (qv). On 15 July 1689 he was made a JP. As mayor, MacDermott was loyal to James, readily implementing his orders; he was responsible for imposing stringent wartime price controls on goods within the city. Knighted in May 1690, on 3 July MacDermott fled Dublin after the battle of the Boyne, being succeeded as lord mayor by John Otrington. He went to Galway, taking the mayoral chain and collar with him. However, given the financial exigencies of the Jacobite forces, Richard Talbot (qv), earl of Tyrconnell, demanded that these be handed over, and imprisoned MacDermott when the latter refused to do so.

After the battle of Aughrim MacDermott travelled to France. In April 1692 he petitioned for a pardon in order to return to Ireland, stating his willingness to be loyal to the government of William III (qv), and offering to return the mayoral regalia which he still possessed; the petition was rejected, and he remained in France. He was later attainted and outlawed. In September 1695 James II instructed him to surrender the mayoral chain to Sir William Ellis (qv), the former treasurer of Dublin from whom he had originally received it. In September 1699 James testified to his loyalty, and to the losses he had suffered, which included considerable assets in Dublin, along with property in Montserrat. Nothing is known of him after this, but MacDermott remains notable as the last catholic lord mayor of Dublin before Daniel O'Connell (qv) in 1841.