Editing Lord Dunsany (section)

===Early life===
Edward Plunkett (''Dunsany''), known to his family as "Eddie", was the first son of [[John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany]] (1853–1899), and his wife, Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor [[Ernle]]-Erle-Drax (née Burton) (1855–1916).<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 July 1878 |title=Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Plunkett-18th-Baron-of-Dunsany/6000000000629554702 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041933/https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Plunkett-18th-Baron-of-Dunsany/6000000000629554702 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=12 July 2017 |website=geni_family_tree}}</ref>

From a historically wealthy and famous family, Lord Dunsany was related to many well-known Irish figures. He was a kinsman of the [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] Saint [[Oliver Plunkett]], the martyred [[Archbishop of Armagh (Roman Catholic)|Archbishop of Armagh]] whose ring and [[crosier|crozier]] head are still held by the Dunsany family. He was also related to the prominent Anglo-Irish unionist and later nationalist / [[Irish Home Rule|Home Rule]] politician [[Sir Horace Plunkett]] and [[George Noble Plunkett|George Count Plunkett]], [[Papal Count]] and Republican politician, father of [[Joseph Plunkett]], executed for his part in the [[Easter Rising|1916 Rising]].

His mother was a cousin of [[Sir Richard Burton]], and he inherited from her considerable height, being 1.93 metres tall (6'4"). The Countess of Fingall, wife of Dunsany's cousin, the [[Earl of Fingall]], wrote a best-selling account of the life of the aristocracy in Ireland in the late 19th century and early 20th century called ''Seventy Years Young''.

Plunkett's only adult sibling, a younger brother, from whom he was estranged from about 1916, for reasons not fully clear but connected to his mother's will, was the noted British naval officer [[Reginald Drax|Sir Reginald Drax]]. Another younger brother died in infancy.

Edward Plunkett grew up at the family properties, notably Dunstall Priory in [[Shoreham, Kent|Shoreham]], Kent, and [[Dunsany Castle]] in County Meath, but also in family homes such as in London. His schooling was at [[Cheam School|Cheam]], [[Eton College]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], which he entered in 1896.