He served as
High Sheriff of Louth in 1746. He represented
County Louth in the
Irish House of Commons from 1745 to 1760 and subsequently the borough of
Monaghan from 1761 to 1770. In 1768 he sat briefly as
Member of Parliament for
Dundalk before opting to sit for Monaghan Borough, for which he had also been elected. He was appointed
Governor and
Custos Rotulorum of County Monaghan for life in 1775, standing down just before his death in 1806. He was created
Earl of Clermont in 1777 and a Knight Founder of the
Order of St Patrick on 30 March 1795. He was a
francophile and it is believed on that account he selected
Clermont as the name of his earldom. He had
horseracing interests and his
racing silks were all crimson. He was known in racing circles as
the Father of the Turf and won the
Derby with his horse
Aimwell. He had a country estate in Norfolk. His London
townhouse was 44
Berkeley Square in
Mayfair, which he purchased from
George Finch-Hatton in 1774, after the death of its builder, Lady Isabella Finch (1700–1771), the 7th daughter of
Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea. In the early 1960s it became the home of the
Clermont Club, an exclusive gambling club, and its basement and garden were occupied until 2018 by the then exclusive nightclub
Annabel's. of Lord Clermont. In the 1960s it became the first home of the
Clermont Club, an exclusive gambling club. Until 2018, the basement was the location of the exclusive nightclub
Annabel's, operated originally as part of the Clermont Club ==Marriage and progeny==