way abated his old animosity against Papists and High Anglicans, despite the King's well-known leaning towards the Roman Catholic faith, and championed the cause of the Irish Presbyterians. Notwithstanding, being personally agreeable to King Charles II, his religious views were overlooked, and on 21 November 1660 he was created Baron Lough Neagh and Viscount Massereene in the Irish peerage, with the remainder in default of male heirs to his son-in-law, Sir John Skeffington. Marriage and children He married Margaret Jones, daughter of Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh and his first wife Frances Moore, by whom he had two daughters: Mary Clotworthy, wife of Sir John Skeffington, later 2nd Viscount Massereene. Lettice Clotworthy, who married Edward Rowley and had issue. Death and succession He died without male issue and as provided for in the special remainder, his title devolved onto his son-in-law Sir John Skeffington (husband of his daughter Mary Clotworthy), who became the 2nd Viscount Massereene and whose great-grandson, the 5th Viscount Massereene, was created Earl of Massereene in 1756. The earldom became extinct on the death of the 4th Earl without male issue in 1816, the viscounty and barony of Lough Neagh descending to his daughter Harriet Skeffington, whose husband, Thomas Foster, adopted the surname of Skeffington, and in 1824 inherited from his mother the titles of Viscount Ferrard and Baron Oriel of Collon in the Irish peerage, and from his father in 1828 that of Baron Oriel of Ferrard in the peerage of the United Kingdom. Character Historians, especially Strafford's biographer Veronica Wedgwood, have dealt very harshly with Clotworthy as a human being. Wedgwood called him: "a heartless, dour and repellent man who throughout his life showed a consistent inhumanity towards his fellow men". Wedgwood does however concede that, unlike others who conspired to bring Strafford down, Clotworthy was motivated less by self-interest than by genuine religious fanaticism. Laud's biographer Hugh Trevor-Roper also criticises him for his unpleasant behaviour at Laud's execution, where he engaged him in religious controversy while Laud was trying to prepare himself for death. Clotworthys today Many Clotworthys since then have emigrated to other countries around the world, many to America. There are very few known to survive in Northern Ireland. References Massereene Massereene, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Antrim constituencies Massereene, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in