Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, 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.
The Earl of Orrery | |
|---|---|
| Privy Council of England | |
| In office 26 May 1661 – 21 April 1679 | |
| Lord Lieutenant of Clare | |
| In office 1661–1672 | |
| Lord President of Munster | |
| In office 1661 – 31 July 1672 | |
| Constable, Limerick Castle | |
| In office 1661 – October 1679 † | |
| Member of Parliament for Arundel | |
| In office 1660–1679 | |
| President of the Council in Scotland | |
| In office March 1655 – March 1656 | |
| Member of the Protectorate Parliament for County Cork | |
| In office 1654 – 10 December 1657 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1621 Lismore Castle, County Waterford |
| Died | 16 October 1679 (aged 58) Castlemartyr, County Cork |
| Spouse | Margaret Howard (1641 to his death) |
| Relations | Robert Boyle |
| Children | Margaret (1644–1683); Roger (1646–1682); Henry (1648–1693); Barbara; |
| Parent(s) | Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork; Catherine Fenton Boyle |
| Education | Trinity College, Dublin |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1641 to 1651 |
| Battles/wars | |
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.