John Richard Boyle, 15th Earl of Cork and 15th Earl of Orrery (born 3 November 1945) is a British hereditary peer and a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, where he sits as a Crossbencher. Boyle was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and then had a career in the sugar industry before inheriting his titles in 2003.

Royal Navy

Boyle entered the

and graduated from

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

. In 1976, as a Lieutenant-Commander, he was given the command of HMS Sealion but retired from the RN in 1979 and went to work in the sugar industry.

Politics

Boyle was first styled as Viscount Dungarvan as a courtesy title from 1995 following his father inheriting the earldoms. He inherited the title of Earl of Cork and Orrery following the death of his father,

John Boyle, 14th Earl of Cork John William Boyle, 14th Earl of Cork and 14th Earl of Orrery DSC VRD (12 May 1916 – 14 November 2003), styled The Honourable John Boyle from 1965 to 1995, was an Irish and British peer. He was educated at Harrow and King's College Lo ...

on 14 November 2003. He was elected to sit in the House of Lords at a crossbench hereditary peers' by-election in July 2016, following Lord Bridges ceasing to be a member of the House owing to his non-attendance of the House, a provision that was created following the passage of the

House of Lords Reform Act 2014 The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previousl ...

. He defeated Richard Hubert Gordon Gilbey, 12th Baron Vaux of Harrowden by 15 votes to 8 in a vote of all sitting

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

hereditary peers. Though his Irish titles came from the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

, which does not make him eligible for election, he also holds the title of Baron Boyle of Marston in the Peerage of Great Britain which allowed him to stand in the by-election for hereditary peers. In the House of Lords, he is referred to by his higher ranking Irish titles as Earl of Cork and Orrery despite being elected via his barony.

Personal life

The Earl of Cork and Orrery was educated at Harrow School. He is married to Rebecca Juliet née Noble, daughter of

Michael Noble, Baron Glenkinglas Michael Antony Cristobal Noble, Baron Glenkinglas, PC (13 March 1913 – 15 May 1984) was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist politician. Noble was the youngest son of Sir John Noble, 1st Baronet, and the grandson of Sir Andrew Noble, 1st ...

. They have three children; an elder daughter Lady Cara Willoughby and twins Lady Davina Knight, and Rory, Viscount Dungarvan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork, John Boyle, 15th Earl of 1945 births Living people Crossbench hereditary peers *15 *15 Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act Royal Navy officers People educated at Harrow School Barons Boyle of Marston British people of Irish descent

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...