Early life

He was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Forbes of Corse

Corse

Corse may refer to:*Corse, the French name for Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea*Corse , a European surname of multiple origins *Corse, a Shakespearean word for Corpse...

 in Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

; who went to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1620 with the Master of Forbes's regiment, of which he was lieutenant-colonel, and was granted large estates in Leitrim

Leitrim

-In Ireland::* County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland* Leitrim, County Leitrim, a small village in the same county* Leitrim Station, a former railway station on the defunct Cavan & Leitrim Railway* Leitrim, County Down, a small village in Northern Ireland...

 and Longford

Longford

Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 7,622 according to the 2006 census. Approximately one third of the county's population resides in the town. Longford town is also the biggest town in the county...

 by James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

. His mother was Jane, daughter of Sir Robert Lauder of the Isle of Bass, and widow of Sir Alexander Hamilton of Killeshandra

Killeshandra

Killeshandra or Killashandra is a village in County Cavan, Ireland, located 20 km northwest of Cavan town and is central to County Cavan's lakeland and geopark region, set in the unique Erne catchment environment of rivers, lakes, wetlands and woodland...

, co. Cavan

County Cavan

County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...

. His father was killed in a duel

Duel

A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...

 in 1632, and he was brought up by his mother.

Civil War

During the rebellion of 1641 Jane Forbes was besieged in Castle Forbes, the family seat, for nine months, and Forbes raised men for her relief, though only eighteen years old. He is next heard of in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, serving under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...

 in the cause of Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. On the defeat of Montrose in 1645 he was taken prisoner, and for two years confined in Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

.

On his release he made efforts to restore the Stuarts, and then returned to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1655.

Under Charles II

In 1660 he was sent to Charles at Breda

Breda

Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

 to assure him that if he would only go over to Ireland the whole kingdom would declare for him. At the Restoration

Restoration (1660)

The term Restoration in reference to the year 1660 refers to the restoration of Charles II to his realms across the British Empire at that time.-England:...

 he was appointed a commissioner of the court of claims in Ireland, and received additional grants of land in Westmeath. In 1661 he entered parliament as member for the family borough of Mullingar

Mullingar

Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...

.

In 1663 he did service to the king in the north of Ireland by nipping in the bud efforts there in support of Thomas Blood

Thomas Blood

Colonel Thomas Blood was an Irish colonel best known for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671...

's plot. Honours then came his way. In 1670 he was sworn of the Irish privy council

Privy council

A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

, and appointed marshal and commander-in-chief of the army. In 1671 he was one of the lords justices; on several subsequent occasions he held the post.

In 1672 he was helped the presbyterian church of Ireland, of which he was a member, by procuring for it the first grant of regium donum

Regium Donum

The Regium Donum was an annual grant formerly voted by Parliament to augment the stipends of the Presbyterian clergy in Ireland. The Regium Donum originally began in 1673 during the reign of Charles II. The grant was then renewed and increased by King William III in 1690 as a reward for the loyalty...

, which the church continued to enjoy until the passing of the Irish Church Act in 1869, with the exception of a short interval. James Kirkpatrick, in his Essay Upon the Loyalty of Presbyterians (1713), gave an account of Forbes's lobbying.

In 1675 he was created Baron Clanehugh and Viscount Granard. In 1684 he raised the 18th regiment of foot, and was made colonel thereof, and in the same year was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Granard.

Under James II

James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

 endeavoured to make use of Granard; but he was not pliable, and was removed from the command of the army, Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell being put in his place. When James's Dublin parliament passed the acts of repeal and attainder, he remonstrated with the king. Finding his arguments vain, he went to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

, entered his protest against the measures, and retired to Castle Forbes. Here he was unsuccessfully besieged by Irish forces.

Williamite War

When William III

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

 went over to Ireland, Granard was placed by the king in command of a force of five thousand men for the reduction of Sligo

Sligo

Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...

, the surrender of which he secured. This was his last public service.

Family

He married Catherine, daughter of Sir Robert Newcomen of Mosstown, co. Longford

County Longford

County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...

, and widow of Sir Alexander Stewart, ancestor of the Mountjoy family, by whom he had five sons and one daughter.