William Pery, grandson of Roger Pery of Exeter settled in Limerick in 1613, when he was made the customer of Limerick Port. His nephew, Edmund (son of Henry Pery and Richarda Platyr), joined him in Ireland and founded the most well-known branch of the Per[/r]y family, the Earls of Limerick.

Edmund Pery, who died in 1655, married Susan Sexten. Their son, Colonel Edmond Pery married Dymphna Stackpole of Stackpole Court, County Clare. Edmund and Dymphna Pery had two sons. The first, Sexten Pery, died in 1730 and was suceeded by his brother, Reverend Stackpole Pery. He married Jane Twidde in 1716, the daughter of the Archdeacon of Limerick and a descendant of Lord Burghley. Their eldest son, Edmund Sexton Pery(1716-1785) was created Viscount Pery, but from his two marriages he produced only daughters who could not succeed to his title. It was his nephew, Edmund Henry, the son of William Cecil Pery (Baron Glentworth) who was created the First Earl of Limerick.

Edmund Henry Pery was created Viscount Limerick in 1800 and Earl of Limerick in 1803. He married in 1793 to Mary Alice, the heiress of Henry Ormsby of County Mayo and they had several children. The eldest two sons both pre-deceased their father, with Edmond Cecil dying at the age of 8 in 1793 and Henry Hartstonge, Lord Glentworth dying in 1834. When the first Earl died in 1844, therefore, he was succeeded by his grandson, William Henry Tennison Pery, who was born in 1812.

The Pery family of Limerick are descended from the English Perrys