 He was pricked High Sheriff of Armagh in 1787 and succeeded his father as MP for Armagh County constituency in the Irish House of Commons between 1795 and 1797.In 1807 he was elected as the Tory Member of Parliament for Armagh in the United Kingdom House of Commons, sitting for the seat until his death in 1815.He founded, with three partners, the private bank of William Brownlow Esq.,& Co.