He was the son of Christiana Nickson, 1st Baroness of Donoughmore of Knocklofty and The Rt Hon. John Hely-Hutchinson. He served as Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons for Dublin University from 1790 to 1798 and then for Naas from 1798 until the Act of Union in 1801.

He married Frances Nixon and had nine children. Their daughter, Louisa Frances Hely-Hutchinson married Francis Synge-Hutchinson and their son was Lt-Gen Coote Synge-Hutchinson. His son John succeeded to the peerages created for both his mother and brother.

From 1800-27 he served as Collector of Customs at Dublin Port succeeding Theophilus Jones.^[1]