George Kelly

George Kelly (c. 1680 – October 1762) was an Irish clergyman and Jacobite. A close associate of Charles Edward Stuart, he is notable as one of the Seven Men of Moidart who accompanied Prince Charles to Scotland in July 1745 to initiate the Jacobite rising of that year.

Early life Kelly was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, the son of Edward Kelly. In Avignon he befriended James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, who he served as chaplain and secretary. By 1743, he had become an associate of Prince Charles who made Kelly his representative at the French court at Versailles. At Versailles, Kelly clashed with and undermined the Jacobite agents Francis Sempill and Daniel O'Brien, who had been appointed by Charles' father, James. As a result, James came to distrust Kelly, but Charles retained him in his service and gave him management of the Jacobite's propaganda efforts.

Kelly was in the company of Prince Charles when he set sail for Scotland on 5 July 1745. The Prince's group reached Eriskay on 23 July 1745 before landing on the mainland at Loch nan Uamh and initiating the rising on 19 August. Following the Jacobite victory at the Battle of Prestonpans in September, the Prince sent Kelly back to France with news of the rising's success in the hope of gaining further support. Kelly is credited with helping to secure the Treaty of Fontainebleau, even though it was signed by his rival, O'Brien, on behalf of Prince Charles. On 10 October, Prince Charles issued the Jacobite manifesto, which had been drawn up by Kelly, from Holyrood Palace. This was despite James continuing to view Kelly as a malign influence on the Prince, suspecting that he was a British government agent. William MacGregor of Balhaldy wrote of Kelly to James Edgar on 31 May 1747, "trick, falsehood, deceit, and imposition, [are] joined to those qualities that make up a sycophant". He was played by Harry Schofield in the 1948 film Bonnie Prince Charlie.