Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet PC (Ire) (c. 1643 – 1691) was the last of the Talbot baronets of Carton: his title was forfeited on account of his loyalty to King James II of England. He was an Irish politician and judge, who served briefly as Master of the Rolls in Ireland.
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Birth and origins
William was born about 1643, the only son of Garret Talbot and his wife Margaret Gaydon. His father was the third of eight brothers, of whom the most eminent were Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and Peter Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin. All three brothers served the Stuart dynasty with notable loyalty during the English Civil War and the Interregnum, and William shared his family's loyalty to the Stuarts.
Early life
Talbot was called to the Bar, succeeded to his father's title in 1670, and for a time acted as Secretary to the Province of Maryland, presumably at the request of his maternal uncle, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, who was Proprietor of Maryland.
The Talbot family was devoutly Roman Catholic; William's uncle Archbishop Talbot died in prison in 1680, a victim of the fabricated Popish Plot. Perhaps inspired by his uncle's example, Sir William in 1682 made a public plea for religious toleration of Catholics. He became a Commissioner of the Revenue in 1682, a member of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1687 and Master of the Rolls in 1689.
Marriage
He married in 1683 Lady Anne Nugent, widow of Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount Dillon, and daughter of Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath and Mary Nugent; she died in 1710. They had no children.
Later life and death
His open Catholic beliefs, combined with the influence of his uncle Lord Tyrconnell who, as Lord Deputy of Ireland, became for a short time almost all-powerful in Ireland, gained him preferment, especially during the reign of the ardently Catholic King James II. Like all the judges promoted by James II, his knowledge of the law and the size of his practice were the subject of harsh criticism by his enemies.
He sat in the Patriot Parliament of 1689 as member for Meath.
After the downfall of James II, Talbot was attainted and his lands and title were subsequently forfeited under the Williamite Settlement.
He died either in Ireland, at Galway, in May 1691, or on the continent, in France or in Spain, on 26 December 1724.