Murragh Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington (c.1645–1718) was an Irish peer and member of the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

. Murrough (or Murragh) Boyle was born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the only surviving son of Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh and his second wife Mary O'Brien, daughter of

Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron Inchiquin Dermod McMurrough O'Brien, 5th Baron Inchiquin (October 1594 – 29 December 1624) was an Irish baron. cites Biography Dermod, who was born in October 1594, was the son of Murrough O'Brien, 4th Baron Inchiquin (1562 – 24 July 1597), the son ...

. He

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

on 8 August 1662. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the Parliament of Ireland for

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...

from 1665 to 1666. He was created 1st Viscount Blesington (in the Peerage of Ireland) and 1st Baron Boyle, on 23 August 1673, with a special remainder to the male heirs of his father. He was invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

for Ireland in June 1675. He held the office of Constable of King John's Castle in the city of Limerick between 1679 and 1692 and the office of Governor of Limerick between 1679 and 1692. He was awarded the honorary degree of

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

s (LL.D.) in 1682. He was appointed a

Commissioner of the Great Seal The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

of Ireland on 17 November 1693 and appointed one of the Lord Justices of Ireland in 1696, although he only held this office for a fortnight, and was never elected. Murrough was the author of a tragedy, entitled "

The Lost Princess ''The Lost Princess: A Double Story'', first published in 1875 as ''The Wise Woman: A Parable'', is a fairy tale novel by George MacDonald. The story describes how a woman of mysterious powers pays visits to two very different young girls: one ...

". Baker, a contemporary dramatic

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

, characterised this production as "truly contemptible", and added that the "genius and abilities of the writer did no credit to the name of Boyle". On his death in Dublin on 26 April 1718 he was buried at

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland ca ...

. He had married twice; firstly Mary Parker, daughter of Dr. John Parker, Archbishop of Dublin and Mary Clarke, and secondly Lady Ann Coote, daughter of Charles Coote, 2nd

Earl of Mountrath There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Coote family. The first is Coote of Castle Cuffe, while the second is Coote of Donnybrooke, both in the Baronetage of Ireland. As of 2020, the first creation is still extant. The ho ...

and Alice Meredyth. By his first wife he had a daughter Mary and by his second a son and heir, Charles and two daughters Alicia and Anne. Alicia married

Pierce Butler, 4th Viscount Ikerrin Pierce Butler, 4th Viscount Ikerrin (c. 1677 – 1711), was an Irish peer, politician and professional soldier who rose to the rank of brigadier general under Queen Anne. He was outlawed as a Jacobite in 1690, when he was probably still in his ...

and had one son James who succeeded to his father's title but died young. Anne married

William Stewart, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy William Stewart, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy (1675 – 10 January 1728), was an Anglo-Irish peer. William Stewart was born in 1675, the son of Sir William Stewart, later 1st Viscount Mountjoy. His father was a leader of the Irish Protestants during t ...

and was the mother of

William Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessington William Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessington (7 April 170914 August 1769) was an Anglo-Irish peer and member of the House of Lords, styled The Honourable William Stewart until 1728 and known as The Viscount Mountjoy from 1728 to 1745. Life Stewart ...

. His title was inherited by his son

Charles Boyle, 2nd Viscount Blesington Charles Boyle, 2nd Viscount Blesington (died 2 June 1732) was an Irish peer and member of the House of Lords. Charles Boyle was the son of Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington and Lady Anne Coote, daughter of Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountr ...

. On Charles' death without a male heir, his estates passed to his surviving sister Anne.

References

External links

Boyle Genealogy
1709 births 1769 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles II Murrough Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Limerick constituencies Irish MPs 1661–1666 {{Ireland-viscount-stub