Francis Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff

Francis James Mathew, 2nd Earl Landaff KP (20 January 1768 – 12 March 1833), styled The Honourable Francis Mathew from 1783 to 1797 and Viscount Mathew from 1797 to 1806, was an Irish peer and politician.

2nd Earl Landaff Francis James Mathew KP
Viscount Mathew and his brothers by Gillray, 1803: The Three Mr Wiggins's. The title is a reference to that year's play Mrs Wiggins by John Till Allingham.
Born	20 January 1768
Died	12 March 1833 Dublin
Style	The Honourable (1783–1797), Viscount (1797–1806)
Title	2nd Earl Landaff
Predecessor	Francis Mathew
Successor	Title became extinct
Spouse	Gertrude Cecilia La Touche
Children	None
Parent	Francis Mathew
Relatives	Montague James Mathew (brother)

Mural memorial tablet erected 1987 in Llandaff Cathedral: "In memory of Thomas James Mathew son and heir of Francis James Mathew second Earl of Landaff born in London 1798 died in Cape Town 1862". The arms are blazoned: Or, a lion rampant sable. Crest: A heathcock proper. Supporters: Two unicorns rampant silver maned tufted hooved collared and chained or. Motto: A Fynno Duw a Fydd ("What God wills will be")

Mathew sat for County Tipperary in the Irish House of Commons from 1790 to 1792, when his election was declared invalid. He represented Callan between May and November 1796 and subsequently again Tipperary in the Irish House of Commons until the Act of Union in 1800 and then the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1801 until he succeeded his father in the earldom in 1806. His younger brother Montague James Mathew (1773–1819) succeeded him as one of the two members of the UK parliament for County Tipperary. He was an opponent of the Union and a supporter of Catholic Emancipation, and was also "a personal enemy of George IV" and gave evidence in favour of Queen Caroline regarding her conduct at the Court of Naples during her famous trial.

He was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 24 November 1831.[1]

Lord Landaff married Gertrude Cecilia, a daughter of John La Touche, of Kildare. The marriage was childless. He died of syncope in Dublin on 12 March 1833, aged 65, when the titles became extinct. Dying intestate, his estates went to his sister, Lady Elizabeth Mathew, who died in 1842 leaving the fortune to a cousin, the Vicomte de Chabot, the son of her mother's sister Elizabeth Smyth.[2]