James I, whose fondness for handsome young men was a source of much gossip. Delvin was pardoned and restored to royal favour, although some of his lands were forfeited, including Cloughoughter Castle. Political career Thereafter his career until 1641 was one of notable success, although he clashed with the Government on a number of occasions, notably over the creation of new Parliamentary boroughs in 1613, which he opposed on the grounds that they would artificially increase the number of Protestant MPs. He also objected to the proposed Plantation of Ossory in 1623-4, which he predicted correctly would be the forerunner to other and more extensive Plantations. He received grants of land in several counties in 1611 - including 14,000 acres in County Galway, mainly around Tynagh and Kileen - and was able to build a new dwelling, Clonyn Castle, near the older family home, Nugent Castle. He took his seat in the Irish House of Lords in the Parliaments of 1613-15 and 1634-5, and was appointed a royal commissioner for the redress of grievances in 1633. He accompanied the Duke of Buckingham, the prime royal favourite, to the ill-fated Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré in 1627. He was created Earl of Westmeath in 1621, a sign of the King's continued goodwill. As a leading spokesman for the Roman Catholic community, his loyalty was sometimes questioned, especially after his opposition to the Plantation of Ossory in the mid-1620s, but from 1608 onwards his allegiance to the Crown does not seem to have been seriously in doubt. In the late 1620s, he was deeply involved in negotiating the religious concessions to Roman Catholics which are popularly known as "The Graces". In 1634-5 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, cancelled the Graces. This, and his inability to work with the stern and intimidating Strafford, who was virtually all-powerful in Ireland, caused Westmeath to largely retire from public life in the late 1630s. Death On the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 the Earl, unlike many of the Anglo-Irish nobility, remained loyal to the Crown, although at least one of his sons (with his knowledge if not his approval) took the rebels' side. Concerned that he was exposed to his enemies at Clonyn, the Government sent a party to accompany him to Dublin. The party was ambushed at Athboy and the Earl was captured. He was rescued, but attacked again