In 1886, Bourke was appointed
Governor of Madras. The following year he was appointed a
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire and raised to the peerage as
Baron Connemara, of
Connemara in the
County of
Galway. In 1890 he laid the foundations stone of the
Connemara Public Library in
Madras, which was named after him and opened six years later. The building was originally planned to house the proposed
Victoria Technical Institute which was constructed in 1887, the
Golden Jubilee year of
Queen Victoria's reign. The third session of the
Indian National Congress was held at Madras in 1887 when Lord Connemara was the governor. He hosted a garden party at Government House for the delegates. The construction of the
Madras High Court was commenced in 1889. Lord Connemara is credited with introducing a number of reforms while serving as governor. He personally supervised the famine-relief measures at
Ganjam and reorganised the sanitary administration of Madras city. He also improved and extended the east coast railway line connecting Madras with
Calcutta. The
Madras Mail, in its 4 December 1890 issue, comments that his administration was "a bright epoch in the annals of Madras". He resigned as governor on 8 November 1890 and returned to Great Britain when his wife sued him for infecting her with syphilis and his adultery with her lady's maid. He did not defend himself and accepted the verdict and paid costs. == Later life ==