Background
He was the eldest son of Thomas Fortescue (1683–1769), the Member of Parliament for Dundalk.
He was the eldest son of Thomas Fortescue (1683–1769), the Member of Parliament for Dundalk.
He served as High Sheriff of Louth in 1746. He represented Louth in the Irish House of Commons from 1745 to 1760 and subsequently Monaghan Borough from 1761 to 1770. He was appointed Governor and Custos Rotulorum of County Monaghan for life in 1775, standing down just before his death in 1806. in 1795.
They had an only daughter, Louisa.
In 1768 he briefly sat as Member of Parliament for Dundalk before opting to sit for Monaghan Borough, for which he had also been elected.
