John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley (28 December 1687 – 12 September 1728), was an Irish peer born of an English family.
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Early life
He was the son of Elizabeth (née Napier) Bligh and Thomas Bligh (1654–1710) of Plymouth, a Commissioner of Customs and Excise despatched to Ireland in search of forfeited estates who was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland around November 1706. His younger brothers were Lt.-Gen. Thomas Bligh, best known for his service during the Seven Years' War, and the Very Rev. Robert Bligh, the Dean of Elphin.
His paternal grandfather was William Bligh, a prosperous Plymouth merchant, and his maternal grandfather was Col. James Napier of Loughcrew. He was descended from a prominent Devon family via a cadet branch which had settled in County Meath, Ireland.
Career
From 1709 to 1713, Bligh represented Trim in the Irish House of Commons, after which he represented Athboy from 1713 to 1721.
In 1721, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Clifton of Rathmore, in the County of Meath. In 1723, the Darnley title held by his wife's ancestors (which had become extinct on the death of Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox and 6th Earl of Darnley in 1672) was revived when he was created Viscount Darnley, of Athboy in the County of Meath, in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1725, Bligh was further honoured when he was advanced as Earl of Darnley (a reference to his wife's ancestors, the Stewarts of Darnley of Cobham), in the County of Meath, also in the Peerage of Ireland.