Henry Boyle, 3rd Earl of Shannon KP, PC (Ire) (8 August 1771 – 22 April 1842), styled Viscount Boyle from 1764 until 1807, was among the last surviving Members of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

. He represented

Cork County County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...

in the new

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

from 1801 to 1807. He then briefly served as Member of Parliament for Bandon in 1807, succeeding as

Earl of Shannon Earl of Shannon is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for the prominent Irish politician Henry Boyle, who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. The earldom is named a ...

later in the same year. He served as

Custos rotulorum ''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica. England, Wales and Northern Ireland The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...

for

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

from 1807 to his death. He was the first Lord Lieutenant of Cork from 1831 to his death.

Family

He was a son of

Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon KP, PC (Ire) (30 January 1727 – 20 May 1807), was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament. He represented Dungarvan and Cork County, and succeeded his father as Earl of Shannon.Francis Bernard, 1st Earl of Bandon Francis Bernard, 1st Earl of Bandon (26 November 1755 – 26 November 1830) was an Irish peer and politician. He was the only son of James Bernard and his wife Esther Smith, daughter of Percy Smith. Between 1778 and 1783, Bernard sat as Memb ...

. Their maternal grandparents were John Ponsonby, Speaker of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

from 1756 to 1771, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Cavendish. Lady Elizabeth was a daughter of

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

, and his wife Catherine Hoskins. Her maternal grandparents were John Hoskins and Catherine Hale.

Career

Parliament of Ireland

Boyle was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

. He represented the borough of

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

in the Irish Parliament from 1793 until 1797 and then

from 1797 until the Act of Union in 1801. In 1798, he was also elected for

Rathcormack Rathcormack or Rathcormac () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is 6 km north of Sligo town Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the w ...

, however, chose not to sit. According to his obituary in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine ...

'', Boyle "took an active part in arming the

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

in Ireland." On 31 October 1796 Boyle was commissioned Captain of five different units, those of

Castlemartyr Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6& ...

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Ca ...

, Cove, Imokilly and Middleton.''The Gentleman's Magazine'', July 1842, p. 315 At the time the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

and the Kingdom of Ireland were under

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

. The Yeomanry were volunteer regiments raised in many counties from

yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

. Their purpose was to strengthen the defence of the two Kingdoms which faced the threat of an invasion by the French First Republic. The

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

was assisted by a French invasion force under

Jean Joseph Amable Humbert General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (22 August 1767 – 3 January 1823) was a French military officer who participated in several notable military conflicts of the late 18th and early 19th century. Born in the townland of La Coâre Saint-Nabord, ...

. The rebellion and the invasion failed. To secure control of Ireland, the Parliament of Ireland and the Parliament of Great Britain negotiated a merger of the two kingdoms. The Act of Union 1800 resulted in the formation of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

. The final passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was achieved with substantial majorities, achieved in part, according to contemporary documents, through bribery, in the form of peerages and honours to critics to get their votes. Whereas the first attempt had been defeated in the

by 109 votes against to 104 for, the second vote in 1800 produced a result of 158 to 115. By agreement, Ireland gained 100 seats in the British House of Commons and 32 seats in 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 ...

: 28

representative peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

elected for life, and four clergymen of the ( Anglican)

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

, chosen for each session.

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Boyle was among the new Members of the House of Commons, representing

in the new

from 1801 to 1807. There was no actual 1801 United Kingdom general election. All members of the House of Commons entered it by right of their previous election to seats in Great Britain or Ireland. Cork County also had a second representative in the person of

Robert Uniacke Fitzgerald Colonel Robert Uniacke-FitzGerald (17 March 1751 – 20 December 1814) was an Irish politician. He was the eldest son of Robert Uniacke (afterwards Fitzgerald) of Corkbeg and descended from the Munster Desmond FitzGerald Knights of Glin and ...

. They are both listed among the

Members of the 1st UK Parliament from Ireland Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

. Boyle and Fitzgerald run unopposed in the

1802 United Kingdom general election The 1802 United Kingdom general election was the election to the House of Commons of the second Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The first Parliament had been composed ...

. They were both among the Members of the 2nd UK Parliament from Ireland. On 6 August 1803, Boyle was commissioned captain of a sixth unit, that of

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

. During the 1st and 2nd Parliaments Boyle was not listed as either a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

or a Whig. However, he ran as a Whig in the 1806 United Kingdom general election. He was elected alongside

George Ponsonby George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and education Ponsonby was the second surviving so ...

, a fellow Whig. Their faction was at the time under the leadership of

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the no ...

. In the

1807 United Kingdom general election The 1807 United Kingdom general election was the third general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The third United Kingdom Parliament was dissolved on 29 April 1807. The new Parliament was summoned to meet on 22 J ...

, Boyle changed his constituency. Ponsonby and James Bernard were elected in County Cork. On 15 May 1807, Boyle was elected Member of Parliament for Bandon He succeeded Courtenay Boyle in the position. Henry was listed as a Tory on this occasion. Possibly indicating support for the political coalition led by

William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) ...

. On 18 May 1807, Boyle was also elected in

as a Whig. He succeeded James Bernard. On 20 May 1807, the 2nd Earl of Shannon died. Henry succeeded him in his titles and left the House of Commons. He served as

Custos Rotulorum of County Cork The Custos Rotulorum of County Cork was the highest civil officer in County Cork, Ireland. The position was later combined with that of Lord Lieutenant of Cork. Incumbents *1660–1698 Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington *?–1807 Richard Boy ...

from 1807 to his death. Shannon entered the Privy Council of Ireland in 1808. That same year he became a Knight of St. Patrick. He was the first Lord Lieutenant of Cork from 1831 to his death. His death reportedly followed "an illness of nearly two years' duration".

Marriage and children

On 7 June 1798, Boyle married Sarah Hyde, daughter of John Hyde of Castle Hyde. Her mother was Sarah Burton. Their twelve children were listed by order of birth in his obituary: *Lady Catharine Boyle, listed as "unmarried" in 1842. *

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Richard Boyle, "died an infant in 1803". *Lady Sarah Boyle, listed as "unmarried" in 1842. *Lady Harriet Boyle, listed "deceased" in 1842. *Lady Louisa Grace-Boyle, unmarried in 1842. *

Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon (12 May 1809 – 1 August 1868), styled Viscount Boyle until 1842, was a British politician of the Whig party. He served as Member of Parliament for Cork County from 1830 to 1832.

(12 May 1809 – 1 August 1868). *Lady Jane Boyle, unmarried in 1842. *Lady Elizabeth Boyle, unmarried in 1842. *The Honourable Henry Charles Boyle, "Lieut. Royal Fusiliers". Married Catharine-Sophronia-Jane Ede in 1841. *Lady Charlotte-Anne Boyle, unmarried in 1842. *The Honourable Robert Francis Boyle, "born in 1818". *Lady Frances Boyle, "died in 1824, aged four years".

References

External links

*
Page of "Gentleman's Magazine" featuring his Obituary Introduction to Shannon Papers. PRONI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Henry Boyle, 3rd Earl Of 1771 births 1842 deaths Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Cork Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs who inherited peerages Whig (British political party) MPs for Irish constituencies

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Earls of Shannon