Ireland, 17th to 19th centuries

The Irish connection started with Captain Thomas Prior (initially his name was spelt Pryor, but by the time he died, it was Prior. For the sake of clarity, we’ll use Prior) being granted land in Queen's County (now County Laois). Laois is inland, south-west of Dublin: on the below map it is light blue. The photo shows an idyllic view of County Laois - the Priors/Murray-Priors saw more turbulent times there, with Tom Prior making a significant contribution to Irish prosperity - as well creating the M-P family. While other branches of the family prospered, the Priors eventually lost their estates.

The following summarises the Priors/Murray-Priors who lived in Ireland: click on the name for more about that person.

Captain Thomas Prior (d. 17 March ?1690)¹⁾. m. Elizabeth Fairfax

Colonel Thomas Prior (d. 1700) m. ?
Richard Prior (d. 1736) Single? Colonel Thomas Prior's elder son.
Thomas (Tom) Prior (1679-21 October 1751) Colonel Prior's second son and the star of the family. Single Pictured, a mezzotint of Tom Prior by Charles Spooner, held by Royal Dublin Society.
John Murray/Murray-Prior (1720-81). Tom Prior’s cousin and heir. m (1) Mary O’Neil (1720-61)
Andrew Murray-Prior (c.1747-95) m 29 April 1772 Frances Morres (b. c.1751)
1st Thomas Murray-Prior (1773 - 5 November 1854) m. 1799 Catherine Palmer (d. 1802) m. (2) or de facto? Mary Ann Thompson and other possible liaisons producing children.

With the acquisition of a country property with tenants, the Priors and subsequently Murray-Priors established themselves as part of the Anglo-Irish gentry. The men were accorded the courtesy title Esquire, usually shortened to Esq. after their name. Arguably, when the estate was lost to the family, one of TLM-P's key motivations was to re-establish the prestige of his family. It is possible too, that in re-establishing his family's status, TLM-P was the first to add a hyphen in the surname. For the sake of consistency, I have used one from the formation of the name on Tom Prior's death in 1751.

The above Thomas M-P is labelled the 1st because, ever since that Thomas M-P was born in 1773, the tradition has been followed that each Thomas and his wife call their first-born son Thomas. It’s a bonus that the name celebrates the first Prior in Ireland as well as the great Tom Prior whose will prompted the formation of the Murray-Prior name. It is less of a bonus when trying to keep track of which Thomas is which! Nevertheless it is an incredible achievement, indicative of a strong family identity. How many other families can match this tradition?