Of Norman descent, the De Vescis were a leading Anglo-Irish
family. John Vesey (1638–1716), who was born in Coleraine,
County Londonderry, was a prominent figure in the Church of
Ireland, becoming Bishop of Limerick in 1673 and Archbishop of
Tuam in 1679. His son Thomas Vesey (1672–1730) was made a
baronet in 1698. Ordained a priest in 1700, he immediately
became Archdeacon of Tuam and later Bishop of Killaloe (1711)
and Bishop of Ossory (1712). His grandson, Thomas Vessey
(1735–1804) was created Viscount De Vesci of Abbey Leix in the
Irish peerage. His sister Elizabeth Vesey (1715–1791) was a
notable literary hostess in London and Dublin and a close friend
of the writer and patron of the arts Elizabeth Montagu. In
subsequent generations, members of the family served in the
Irish House of Commons, the British House of Commons, the House
of Lords and the British Army. Yvo Vesey (1881–1958), the 5th
Viscount, established the well-known Abbey Leix Carpet Factory
in 1906. Abbey Leix, beside the River Nore in Quee