Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely KP, PC (Ire) (18 November 1709 – 8 May 1783), styled The Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known as Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.
He was the son of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby. He served as High Sheriff of Wexford in 1744 and between 1747 and 1768 represented Bannow in the Irish House of Commons. Subsequently Loftus sat for Wexford County until 1769, when he succeeded his nephew as viscount. Loftus was created Earl of Ely in 1771 and was appointed a Knight Founder of the Order of St Patrick on 11 March 1783.