James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (28 July 1851 – 30 October 1920), was a
Member of Parliament in the British
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, and he held a title in the
Peerage of Ireland
The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
during the final two months of his life.
Early life and career
He was born in 1851 at
Twyford Abbey,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, the son of
Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy, and his wife Eliza Caroline ''née'' Boothby. He was educated at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
.
In 1896, he stood as an Anti-Parnellite
Irish National Federation
The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles ...
candidate in the
Kerry East by-election for a seat in the
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 ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The Nationalists had split into two factions after the party leader,
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...
, was named as co-respondent in a divorce. Roche was supported initially by both the Parnellite
Irish National League
The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League ...
and the Anti-Parnellite Irish National Federation, until it was revealed that he was himself divorced. During the campaign, Roche denied publicly that he knew of the divorce or that he had deserted his wife and children. Although he went on to win the seat, the opposing
Unionist candidate gained the highest vote ever recorded for a Unionist candidate in
Kerry East. He served one term and did not stand in the following
general election in 1900.
Personal life
He visited the United States, where he met the heiress
Frances Ellen Work (1857–1947). Shortly thereafter, on 22 September 1880, they married at Christ Church,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The marriage was not a success, and they separated in December 1886. She was granted a divorce on the grounds of desertion on 3 March 1891 at
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
.
Together, they had four children (two daughters, then twin sons):
* Eileen Roche (1882−1882), who died in infancy.
* The Hon.
Cynthia Roche (1884−1966), who married firstly
Arthur Scott Burden (1879–1921) in 1906. After his death, she married
Guy Fairfax Cary (1879–1950) in 1922.
*
Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (1885–1955), who was the maternal grandfather of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
.
* The Hon. Francis George Burke Roche (1885–1958), who died unmarried.
In 1899, he sued his ex-wife with a ''
Writ of Habeas Corpus'' to produce their daughter in court, stating that she was depriving "the child of her liberty." The case was settled out of court shortly thereafter.
On 1 September 1920, he succeeded his elder brother as
Baron Fermoy. Just two months later, he died at Artillery Mansions,
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, aged 69. He was buried at
St. Marylebone Cemetery in
East Finchley on 3 November 1920.
[ Cokayne, G. E., Gibbs, Vicary, and Doubleday, H. A. ''The Complete Peerage: Volume V'' (St. Catherine Press, London, 1926), p. 303.]
Descendants
Through his son Maurice, he was the great-grandfather of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
. His daughter Cynthia was the
matrilineal
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
great-grandmother of American actor
Oliver Platt.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fermoy, James Roche, 3rd Baron
1851 births
1920 deaths
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs who inherited peerages
Anti-Parnellite MPs
Irish Parliamentary Party MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry constituencies (1801–1922)
People from Ealing
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
English people of Irish descent
Barons Fermoy
James
Burials at East Finchley Cemetery
Younger sons of barons