Lord Henry Mount Charles has died aged 74

RTÉ News​

19-06-2025

Lord Henry Mount Charles, best known for staging iconic rock concerts at his ancestral home of Slane Castle in Co Meath, has died at the age of 74.
His family confirmed the news in a statement: "It is with profound sadness that the family of Lord Henry Mount Charles, The Marquess Conyngham announce his peaceful passing in the late hours of June 18th following a long and valiant battle with cancer.
"A beloved husband, father, grandfather, and custodian of Slane Castle, Lord Henry's courage, and unwavering spirit inspired all who knew him."
The 8th Marquess Conyngham had been sick for some time having first been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014.
He became a household name in the 1980s as some of the world's biggest rock 'n' roll stars took to the stage at his picturesque Meath venue for era-defining concerts.
Lord Henry took over the running of the Slane estate in 1976 at the age of just 25, after returning home from London, where he worked with book publishers Faber & Faber.
He had received a call from his father, Frederick, at the time to say that due to tax impositions, he was going to have to leave Slane and sell up - or else Lord Henry would have to come home.
Born into an aristocratic family of partial Ulster-Scots descent, Lord Henry attended Harrow School in London before studying at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
He became known as the Earl of Mount Charles, a courtesy title, in 1974.
Despite succeeding his father as Marquess Conyngham in March 2009, he was affectionately known as Lord Henry Mount Charles, a name given to him by the press, for most of his life.
His son Alex, who assumed the title Earl of Mount Charles, has lived at the castle for many years with Lord Henry and his wife, who was born Iona Grimston, opting to live upriver at the family-owned Beauparc House.
Lord Henry often spoke about how he knew that the grounds of Slane Castle were a natural amphitheatre for open-air music and that they should be opened up to the public.
Promoter Denis Desmond, now head of MCD, soon became a good friend of Lord Henry and the pair worked alongside promoters Eamonn McCann and the late Jim Aiken to get the venue off the ground.
It was Irish rock band Thin Lizzy who first headlined Slane Castle on 16 August 1981 - supported by U2 - with some 18,000 concert-goers in attendance.
The castle's debut as a venue came at a turbulent time when the hunger strikes were taking place during the Troubles and Anglo-Irish estates were being targeted.
However, the concert was a success and was followed in the early years by other memorable headline acts such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, and David Bowie.
After a five-year absence, the longest since the event began in 1981, Slane returned in 1992. The five concerts of the 1990s were headlined by Guns N' Roses, Neil Young, R.E.M., The Verve, and Robbie Williams.
The crowds at the best-selling gigs on 'Henry's lawn' eventually reached 80,000.
However, there were also dark days. The Dylan concert in 1984 was marred by riots in Slane Village while there were two tragedies in the River Boyne on the day of the REM concert in 1995.
Lord Henry's gamekeeper, Timothy Kidman, was killed by poachers on his land in 1989, something that deeply affected him.
In 1984, U2 recorded their Unforgettable Fire album at Slane Castle, but in 1991, the castle was almost completely destroyed by a real fire, with valuable antiques and paintings - but thankfully no lives - lost.
The crash of the Lloyd's insurance company around the same time, of which Lord Henry was an underwriter, caused further financial strain.
In 1992, he ran in the general election for Fine Gael, polling fifth in the then-four-seater Louth constituency.
With a €50m investment from Brown-Forman, the makers of Jack Daniels, the Mount Charles family launched Slane Irish Whiskey in 2017 and opened the distillery and visitor centre at Slane Castle.
The previous year, Lord Henry had revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer for a second time. He was also vocal about his relationship with alcohol in the past and how U2 bassist Adam Clayton helped him to get sober.
Since the turn of the century, U2, Bryan Adams, Stereophonics, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Oasis, Kings of Leon, Bon Jovi, Eminem, Foo Fighters, and Metallica are some of the other acts to have headlined Slane.
The most recent concert in 2023 came after a four-year hiatus and saw a break from the rock 'n' roll tradition as pop star Harry Styles brought his world tour to Slane.
The Mount Charles family said the concert was about welcoming a new generation of fans to the Meath venue and 80,000 of them turned up on the day to see the former One Direction member perform.
In a documentary titled Henry Mount Charles: A Lord in Slane that aired on RTÉ last December, the patriarch of the Conyngham family spoke about his own mortality.
In what was one of his last interviews, Lord Henry said: "Part of who I am and what I am and what I've done is keeping this estate together and now I know my son Alexander and his wife are there in the castle, the future is assured.
"Slane, it has a draw, a pull, a fascination, and touches the spirit. I feel like a child of that. To me, there is no other place quite like it nor will there ever be," he said.
Charismatic and enigmatic, Lord Henry was much like the rock stars he promoted.
Part of his enduring legacy is the amazing memories he has given hundreds of thousands of people, particularly during the years when Ireland was not on the map for the big rock 'n' roll artists.
He is survived by his wife, Lady Iona, and four adult children, Alexander, Henrietta, Wolfe, and Tamara.
He and his first wife, the American Juliet Kitson, mother of his three eldest children, divorced in 1985.