Garech Browne
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Garech Domnagh Browne (25 June 1939 – 10 March 2018) was an Irish art collector and a notable patron of Irish arts, traditional Irish music in particular. He was often known by a Gaelic translation of his English name, Garech de Brún, or alternatively Garech a Brún, especially in Ireland.<ref name="Irish Examiner 2023">Template:Cite news</ref>
Family
Browne was the eldest of the three sons of the 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne and his second wife, Oonagh, daughter of The Hon. Ernest Guinness, the second son of the 1st Earl of Iveagh. Oonagh was a wealthy heiress to the Guinness fortune and the youngest of the three "Golden Guinness Girls". Garech's father, Lord Oranmore and Browne, had the rare distinction of sitting in the House of Lords for 72 years, until his death at the age of 100 in August 2002, without ever speaking in a debate.Template:Citation needed
As both his parents were married three times, Garech had two stepmothers and two stepfathers, as well as a number of older half-siblings. His only full brother, The Hon. Tara Browne, was a young London socialite whose death at the age of 21 in a car crash in London's West End helped inspire John Lennon when writing the song "A Day in the Life" with Paul McCartney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Garech was educated at Institut Le Rosey, Switzerland. Although a member of the extended Guinness family, he took no active part in its brewing business.Template:Citation needed
When in Ireland, Browne lived at Luggala, set deep in the Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow. The house, which he inherited from his mother, has been variously described as a castle or hunting lodge of large proportions. In 2008, there was a major theft of silver and rare books from Luggala;<ref>Irish Mail, 6 April 2008, pg. 20.</ref> previously, Browne had appointed as an adviser on the restoration of Luggala the architectural historian "Count" Randal MacDonnell, who called himself "The MacDonnell of the Glens" and formerly "Baron Randal MacDonnell of the Isles", a well-known eccentric fantasist. While MacDonnell was there, Browne noticed "the disappearance from the house of items of Georgian silver and other valuable chattels", resulting in a "blistering row" and MacDonnell's escape from what was called the "silver teapot affair" to Prague.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A 2012 book, Luggala Days, by Robert O'Byrne details both the history of Luggala and of Garech's life.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Browne once stated he would rather have not been born, calling it "frightful to bring anyone into this world".<ref>Guinness heir Garech de Brún: 'I wish I hadn't been born - life doesn't stop being hell', independent.ie, 7 May 2017; retrieved 30 December 2017.</ref>
Traditional Irish music
Template:More citations needed Browne had been a leading proponent for the revival and preservation of traditional Irish music, through his record label Claddagh Records which he founded with others in 1959.<ref name="Irish Examiner 2023"></ref> His former home, Woodtown Manor near Dublin, was for many years a welcoming place for Irish poets, writers and musicians. The folk-pop group Clannad made many recordings of their music there.
Garech was instrumental in the formation of the traditional Irish folk group The Chieftains, including the launch of their first six LPs.<ref name="Irish Examiner 2023"></ref> In 1962, after setting up Claddagh Records, he asked his friend, the famed uileann piper Paddy Moloney, to form a group for a one-off album. Moloney responded with the first line-up for the band, which went on to achieve international commercial success.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He was interviewed at length for the Grace Notes traditional music programme on RTÉ lyric fm on 18 March 2010.<ref>Grace Notes, rte.ie; accessed 11 March 2018.</ref>
Art patron
Garech was a friend and patron of the artist Francis Bacon, and in January 2017 was featured in the BBC documentary Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Marriage
In 1981, Browne married HH Princess Harshad Purna Devi Jadeja of Morvi in Bombay (now Mumbai).<ref >Irish Independent 16 September 2018</ref > Purna was the youngest child of HH Sri Mahendra Sinhji, Maharaja of Morvi (1918-57) and his wife HH The Maharani Sri Vijay Kuverba<ref>Burkes Peerage (2003) volume 2, page 2667</ref>
Death
Browne died in London, on 10 March 2018, aged 78.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In his will and testament, he bequeathed to the city of Galway the granite remains of a medieval "bow gate." The location of this gate, which had otherwise gone unmentioned by Browne, remained a mystery for over a year following his death. It was discovered on the grounds of the Luggala estate in 2019. According to a Galway historian, the gate may have formed part of the city's defences in the 17th century, and was later removed from the city by Browne's direct ancestor and nobleman of Galway, Lord Oranmore and Browne, when it was probably taken to the Browne family home at Castle MacGarrett, just outside Claremorris in County Mayo. Their mid-1600s ancestor Geoffrey Browne (MP) (d. 1668) may well have bought the gateway from the city. The gate was one of a number of items left to the Irish State by Browne; another item was his collection of carriages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2022 his library of 20,000 books and manuscripts was placed by his family on a long-term loan to the OPW at Farmleigh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Portraits
Portraits of Garech and photos of Luggala were published by Vanity Fair in January 2008.<ref>Portrait of Garech Browne Template:Webarchive</ref>
A portrait of Browne as a boy, painted at Luggala by Lucian Freud, was sold in March 2019 for €6.7m.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Garech Browne and the Luggala Estate feature in the 1991 film I Dreamt I Woke Up by John Boorman (online).