Anglo-Irish soldier and politician (1621?1679)
"Lord Broghill" redirects here. For other uses, see
Earl of Cork
.
Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
,
[c]
25 April 1621 to 16 October 1679, was an
Anglo-Irish
soldier and politician. A younger son of the
Earl of Cork
, the largest landowner in
Munster
, like many Irish
Protestants
he supported the
Dublin Castle administration
during the
Irish Confederate Wars
, a related conflict of the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
.
Boyle was noted for his anti-
Catholicism
, and consistently opposed concessions to
Irish Catholics
. A skilled politician, he believed maintaining the
Protestant Ascendancy
in
Ireland
required support from the ruling government in
London
, whatever its composition. As a result, he held senior positions under the
Commonwealth
and
Charles II
, following the 1660
Stuart Restoration
.
A noted writer on 17th-century warfare, Boyle helped design
Charles Fort
outside
Kinsale
. He also produced a number of plays and poems, which were well regarded by contemporaries but have since faded into obscurity.
Personal details
[
edit
]
Boyle's birthplace,
Lismore Castle
(restored in 19th century)
Portrait of Lady
Margaret Howard
Roger Boyle was born 25 April 1625, twelfth born and third surviving son of
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
(1566?1643), and his second wife,
Catherine Fenton Boyle
(1588?1630). A few months before his 7th birthday, his father granted him the Broghill estate in
County Cork
, and he was created
Baron of Broghill
in the
Peerage of Ireland
.
His parents had a total of fifteen children, ten of whom survived into adulthood. The most notable included his eldest brother
Richard
(1612?1698), Katherine (1615?1691), a member of the
Hartlib Circle
,
Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick
(1624?1678), and the chemist
Robert Boyle
(1627?1691).
In January 1641, he married Lady Margaret Howard (1623?1689), a daughter of the
Earl of Suffolk
. Their joyful wedding was immortalised in verse by Sir
John Suckling
as
A Ballad upon a Wedding
.
[3]
The couple had five daughters and two sons, his heir
Roger
(1646?1682), and Henry (1648?1693), father of the
Earl of Shannon
. His eldest daughter, Margaret (1644?1683), married
Folliott Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt
.
Career
[
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]
Boyle entered
Trinity College, Dublin
in 1630, then moved to
London
in 1632, where he briefly attended law school at
Gray's Inn
in March 1636.
He and his elder brother
Lewis
(1619?1642) spent the next three years traveling in
Europe
, where they studied languages, mathematics and military theory. When the two returned to
England
in 1639, their father encouraged them to serve
Charles I
in the
Bishops' Wars
against the
Covenanters
.
Rebellion and civil war
[
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]
Boyle returned to Ireland on the outbreak of the
rebellion
in 1641 and fought with his brothers against the Irish rebels at the
battle of Liscarroll
in September 1642. Boyle and in Ireland were left vulnerable by the outbreak of the
First English Civil War
. Although initially under the command of the Royalist Marquis of Ormonde (later
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
), Lord Broghill consented to serve under the parliamentary commissioners in
Cork
against the
Irish Confederates
. Boyle fought with the Parliamentarians until the execution of the king, when he retired altogether from public affairs and took up his residence at
Marston
in
Somerset
.
[6]
Subsequently, he originated a scheme to bring about the Restoration. On his way abroad to consult with
King Charles II
, he was unexpectedly visited by
Oliver Cromwell
in London. Cromwell informed him that his plans were well known to the council and warned against persisting in them. Cromwell offered him a command in Ireland against the rebels that entailed no obligation except faithful service. It was accepted.
Boyle's assistance in Ireland proved invaluable during the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
. Appointed master of the ordnance, he soon assembled a body of infantry and horse, driving the rebels into
Kilkenny
, where they surrendered; he induced the Royalist garrison of Cork (English troops with whom he had served earlier in the wars) to defect back to the Parliamentarian side. On 10 May 1650, he completely defeated at
Macroom
a force of Irish advancing to the relief of Cork. On Cromwell's departure for Scotland, Boyle cooperated with
Henry Ireton
, whom he joined at the
siege of Limerick
. In 1651 he defeated an Irish force marching to Limerick's relief under Lord Muskerry at the
battle of Knocknaclashy
, the final battle of the
Irish Confederate Wars
, thus effecting the capture of the town.
By this time Broghill had become a fast friend and follower of Cromwell, whose stern measures in Ireland and support of the English and
Protestants
were welcomed after the policy of concession to the Irish initiated by
Charles I
. He was returned as member for the
county of Cork
in 1654 to the
First Protectorate Parliament
and in 1656 to the
Second Protectorate Parliament
[6]
and also in the latter assembly for
Edinburgh
, for which he elected to sit. He served this year as Lord President of the Council in Scotland, where he won much popularity. He lodged in Edinburgh at
Old Moray House
.
[7]
When he returned to England he was included in the inner cabinet of Cromwell's council, and nominated in 1657 as a member of the
new House of Lords
. He was one of those most in favour of Cromwell's assumption of the royal title,
[8]
and proposed a union between the Protector's daughter
Frances
and Charles II.
Restoration
[
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]
On Oliver Cromwell's death, Boyle gave his support to
Richard Cromwell
; but as he saw no possibility of maintaining the government, he left for Ireland, whereby resuming command in
Munster
he secured the island for Charles, anticipating Monk's overtures by inviting the King to land at Cork.
[9]
In 1660, he was elected MP for
Arundel
in the
Convention Parliament
, although he was busily engaged in Ireland at the time of the election.
[6]
On 5 September 1660 he was created
Earl of Orrery
. The same year he was appointed one of the three
Lord Justices (Ireland)
and drew up the
Act of Settlement 1662
. In 1661, he was re-elected MP for Arundel in the
Cavalier Parliament
.
[6]
He founded the town of
Charleville, County Cork
, near his estate at Broghill. However, his mansion house in Broghill was burned down by Irish forces before the end of the century.
He continued to exercise his office as
lord-president of Munster
till 1668, when he resigned it on account of disputes with the
duke of Ormonde
, the
lord-lieutenant
. On 25 November, he was
impeached
by the House of Commons for "raising of money by his own authority upon his majesty's subjects," but the prorogation of parliament by the king interrupted the proceedings, which were not afterwards renewed. In 1673 he was appointed
Custos Rotulorum of County Limerick
, which position he held until his death.
[10]
Boyle's writings
[
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]
In addition to Lord Orrery's achievements as a statesman and administrator, he gained some reputation as a writer and a dramatist. He was the author of:
- An Answer to a Scandalous Letter ... A Full Discovery of the Treachery of the Irish Rebels
(1662), printed with the letter itself in his
State Letters
(1742)
- Another answer to the same letter entitled
Irish Colors Displayed ...
also ascribed to him
- Parthenissa
, a novel (1651, 1654?56, 1669)
- English-Adventures by a Person of Honor
(1676), from which
Otway
drew his tragedy of the
Orphan
- A Treatise of the Art of War
(1677), a work of considerable historical value
There are some poems, of little interest, including verses:
Plays in verse, of some literary but less dramatic merit:
- Henry V
(1664), heroic drama
- The Generall
(1664), a tragi-comedy.
[1]
Samuel Pepys, 4 October 1664, called it "so dull and so ill-acted, that I think it is the worst I ever saw or heard in all my days."
- Mustapha
(1665), tragedy
- Tryphon : a tragedy
(acted 1668, Printed for H. Herringman, 1669)
- The Black Prince
(acted 1667; printed 1669), heroic drama
- Herod the Great
(published 1694 but unacted), tragedy
- Altemira
(1702), tragedy
- Guzman
(1669), comedy
- Mr. Anthony
(1690), comedy
A collected edition was published in 1737, to which was added the
fourth earl
's comedy
As you find it
.
The General
is also attributed to him.
- ^
Dismissed
- ^
Office suppressed
- ^
styled
Lord Broghill
from 1628 to 1660
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Endicott, N. J.
"A Ballad Upon A Wedding"
.
Representative Poetry Online
. University of Toronto.
- ^
a
b
c
d
History of Parliament Online ? Boyle, Roger, 1st Baron Broghill
.
- ^
John Gough Nichols,
Autobiography of the Lady Halkett
(London, 1875), pp. 105-7.
- ^
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
volume 7 (2002) p 110-111
- ^
T. W. Moody, F. X. Martin, F. J. Byrne
A New History of Ireland, Volume III: Early Modern Ireland 1534?1691
Oxford University Press (1976) p. 420.
- ^
Fitgerald, Patrick.
The history, topography and antiquities of the county and city of Limerick
. p. 306.
Sources
[
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]
- Barnard, Toby (2004). "Boyle, Roger (1621-1679)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/3138
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Barnard, Toby (2008). "Boyle, Richard, first earl of Cork (1566-1643)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/3133
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- Manning, Roger (2003).
Swordsmen: The Martial Ethos in the Three Kingdoms
. OUP.
ISBN
978-0199261215
.
- Morrice, Thomas (1742).
State Letters of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, edited with his life
.
- Additional manuscripts (
Brit. Mus.
) 25,287 (letter-book when governor of Munster), and 32,095 sqq. 109?188 (letters);
- Article in the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(2002)
- Athenae Oxonienses
. Vol. iii. p. 1200.
- Biographia
.
- "Preface".
Orrery Papers
. 1893.
- "Life of Roger Boyle".
Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland
. 1879?1880.
- "
Calendar of State Papers, Irish and Domestic
".
- Wilson, Joshua (1808).
A Biographical Index to the Present House of Lords
. T. Goddard, G. Richards and Cradock and Joy.
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