Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath ( 1609 – 18 December 1661) was an
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
soldier and politician from
County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
. A strong advocate of the
Protestant Ascendancy
The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...
in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, he fought for
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
in the 1641 to 1652
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...
. Coote also sat as an
MP, and held various senior administrative posts, including
Lord President of Connaught
The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connacht, Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569 ...
.
Personal details
Charles Coote was born 1609, eldest son of
Sir Charles Coote (died 1642), and his wife Dorothea. One of five surviving children, he had three brothers, Chidley (1608–1668), Richard (1620–1683), and Thomas (1621–1671), and a sister, Letitia.
Prior to 1630, Coote married Mary Rushe, with whom he had a son, another
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
(1630–1672). Mary died before 1645, when Coote married again, this time to Jane Hannay (died 1684). They had four children together, Richard, Chidley, Dorothy (1652–1677), Hannah, and Jane.
Irish Confederate Wars
Relatively little is known of Coote's career prior to 1641. He entered
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
in 1622, was knighted in 1626, and was elected
Member of Parliament for
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
in the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...
in 1640.
After the death of his father in action defending
Trim in May 1642, Charles Coote led some of the King's forces under
Ormonde Ormonde is a surname originated in Ireland (Ormonde) and Scotland (Ormond (surname), Ormond), but also occurring in England, United States, Portugal (mainly in Azores, as a variation of the scottish surname Drummond_(surname), Drummond) and Brazil.
...
against the
Confederate army, but was captured defending a stronghold in the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...
of
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...
by an Irish army led by
Castlehaven. He was released during the 1643 cessation of arms.
At this time Coote traveled to England with a number of Protestants to agitate for harsh anti-Catholic measures and an end to the cessation. In
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
Archbishop
Ussher condemned the extremism of Coote and his fellows, but Coote was unbending. The King, however, ignored these demands and so Coote joined the
Parliamentarians. Coote was appointed commander of
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uà Fiachrach, Uà Briúin, Uà Maine, C ...
by the Parliamentarians in 1645. Operating from west Ulster, he temporarily overran the northwest of the province over the next two years.
The Cromwellian Conquest
The execution of
Charles I in 1649 led local Protestant and Scottish forces in
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
to join the Duke of Ormond's royalist coalition, thus isolating Coote. He defended
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
against a protracted siege (March–August 1649), with the unlikely assistance of the
Irish Confederate Ulster army under
Owen Roe O'Neill.
After the
New Model Army
The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...
under
Cromwell captured
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, a detachment under
Robert Venables
Robert Venables (c. 1613 – 10 December 1687) was an English soldier from Cheshire, who fought for Parliament in the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and later served under the Commonwealth of England.
When the Anglo-Spanish War bega ...
headed north into Ulster, where Coote joined Venables to destroy the Scottish Ulster Royalists at the
Battle of Lisnagarvey. By early 1650, however, the Irish Ulster army (now under
Heber MacMahon, as O'Neill had died a few months earlier) became active once more, and Coote was again forced onto the defensive. After being reinforced, he advanced on the Irish army at
Scarrifholis and routed them, killing over 2,000 soldiers and taking no prisoners. After this, Coote's army
attempted to take the formidable fortress of
Charlemont, which was defended by the remnants of the Ulster army, but his soldiers suffered heavy casualties before the stronghold surrendered.
With Ulster largely cleared, in June 1651, Coote advanced on
Athlone
Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...
from the north-west, evading a blocking force. Through this movement the town was gained; the town contained a stone bridge over the Shannon and this action thus opened up
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uà Fiachrach, Uà Briúin, Uà Maine, C ...
to the Parliamentarian army for the first time.
Having entered Connacht, Coote laid siege to Galey Castle, the seat of the
Ó Ceallaigh clan. The Ó Ceallaighs resisted, and for their defiance, they were taken to An Creagán (a local stoney, stepped hill), and were hanged. The hill thereafter came to be known as 'Cnoc an Chrochaire', 'the Hill of the Hanging', and gave its name to the adjacent village, now Anglicised as ‘
Knockcroghery’.
Coote continued westwards and besieged
Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
in the winter of 1652. Galway surrendered in April 1652.
Coote inherited the substantial plantation lands of his father in the midlands of Ireland.
Restoration
After Cromwell's death, Coote took part in December 1659 in a
coup d'etat against
The Protectorate
The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...
, seizing
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin.
It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
. In February 1660 he sent a representative to
King Charles II, inviting him to make an attempt on Ireland. Coote was a central figure in the
Convention Parliament.
[Patrick Little, 'Coote, Charles, first earl of Mountrath (c.1610–1661)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, January 200]
accessed 3 July 2010
/ref> Following the Restoration, Charles II ennobled him Earl of Mountrath in 1660 as a reward for his support.
In the remaining months of his life, he was one of the three most powerful men in Ireland, as the King appointed him Lord Justice of Ireland, together with Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery and Sir Maurice Eustace. Pending the appointment of the Duke of Ormond as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
, the Lords Justices acted as the interim government. However, deep divisions among the three men, particularly on the question of whether dispossessed Roman Catholics should be allowed to recover their lands, seriously weakened the effectiveness of the regime.
He built Rush Hall near Mountrath, which was the family's main residence for several generations.
Coote died of smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
in 1661 and was buried in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin.
Notes
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountrath, Charles Coote, 1st Earl Of
Year of birth uncertain
1661 deaths
Peers of Ireland created by Charles II
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Leitrim constituencies
Coote
Roundheads
Mayors of Galway
Politicians from County Galway
Politicians from County Roscommon
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
Coote, Charles
Earls of Mountrath
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin