In 1936 several American newspapers published Raymond Moulton O'Brien's claims to nobility.New Yorker is acknowledged as British earl According to a Time article, his mother claimed that he was conceived by her first husband who was allegedly a claimant to the extinct title of the Earl of Thomond.People, Oct. 12, 1936 O'Brien appealed to the Irish authorities for the recognition of his title and that same year a Mexican court issued a judgement decreeing that he was indeed the Earl of Thomond. This decree was ratified by France, Germany and Luxembourg. Following this, he wrote personally from New York to the Taoiseach of Ireland, Éamon de Valera, asking whether he would be allowed to use the titles of Earl of Thomond and Baron Ibracken. The Irish authorities made inquiries leading Thomas Sadleir of the College of Arms to confirm that O'Brien had no claim to the titles.
