He was born in Ireland at some point during the
Irish Confederate Wars, the illegitimate son of the Irish soldier and
courtier Richard Talbot. His father was from a long-established family of Catholic
Palesman. His mother is unknown, but is thought to be a member of the
O'Neills of
Shane's Castle in
County Antrim. Richard Talbot had connections to the family, and Mark retained strong links with the area. During the reign of
Charles II Talbot saw service in the
French Army, as many Irish Catholics did during the era when the
Penal laws forbade them from serving in either the
Irish Army or
English Army. After 1685 his father had gained power in Ireland following the coming to the throne of the Catholic
James II. He oversaw a rapid purge of Protestant officers in the Irish Army, replacing them with Catholics. Mark Talbot was one of those who benefited and he became a
lieutenant colonel in the Earl of Antrim's Regiment in 1689. While many of the replacement officers were inexperienced, Mark was part of a group of veterans of continental warfare that included
Lawrence Dempsey and
Patrick Sarsfield. Talbot was appointed to command at
Carrickfergus when a major rebellion broke out amongst Irish Protestants against King James' rule. He fought on the
Jacobite side during the ensuing
Williamite War in Ireland. When King James arrived and summoned the
Patriot Parliament, Mark was selected as
Member of Parliament for
Belfast. Promoted to
brigadier in 1691, he was badly wounded at the
Battle of Aughrim. Although he was his father's only son, he could not inherit the title of
Earl of Tyrconnell because of his illegitimacy, and it went to one of his cousins after his father's death in 1691. ==References==