John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel

John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel PC (Ire) (1740 – 23 August 1828) was an Anglo-Irish politician who thrice served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and also served as the last speaker of the Irish House of Commons.

Early life He was the son of Anthony Foster of Dunleer, County Louth, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer (himself the son of John Foster, MP for Dunleer) by his first wife Elizabeth Burgh. Foster lived in Merville, now part of the University College Dublin Campus in Clonskeagh, which came into his ownership in 1778. He also inherited Collon House in County Louth from his father, and made extensive improvements to the house and grounds; Collon was famous for its variety of trees and shrubs.

Political career He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) to the Irish House of Commons for Dunleer in 1761, a seat he held until 1769. He made his mark in financial and commercial questions, being appointed Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1784. His law giving bounties on the exportation of corn and imposing heavy taxes on its importation is noted by William Lecky as being largely responsible for making Ireland an arable instead of a pasture country. In 1785 he became the last Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.

In 1768, Foster was elected for Navan and in 1783 for Sligo. Both times he had also stood for County Louth, which constituency he then chose to represent. He held this seat until the Act of Union in 1801, which he opposed.

It was said by his critics that his opposition to the Union was less political than personal; summoned to London for consultations, he found himself treated with contempt by the English officials he dealt with, who mocked his broad Irish accent and called him "Mister Spaker". On returning to Ireland he launched a campaign of opposition to the Union. He ultimately refused to surrender the Speaker's mace, which was kept by his family That John should not be confused with his cousin John William Foster, MP for Dunleer 1783–90.

His wife (died 1824) had in 1790 been created an Irish peeress, as Baroness Oriel, and in 1797 Viscountess Ferrard. Their younger son, Thomas Henry (1772–1843), who married Harriet Skeffington, Viscountess Massereene in her own right, and took the name of Skeffington, inherited all these titles; the later Viscounts Massereene being their descendants.