A successful wool merchant and banker, Nicholas Lawless was created a baronet in 1776 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Cloncurry in 1789. Valentine's mother was Margaret Browne, only daughter and heiress of Valentine Browne of Mount Browne, County Limerick; she died in 1795. The family lived mainly at Maretimo House, Blackrock, County Dublin, which Nicholas had built around 1770.
Nicholas Lawless, a successful wool merchant and banker, was made a baronet in 1776 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Cloncurry in 1789. Valentine's mother, Margaret Browne, was the only daughter and heiress of Valentine Browne of Mount Browne, County Limerick; she passed away in 1795. The family resided primarily at Maretimo House, Blackrock, County Dublin, which Nicholas had built around 1770.