Sir Charles Coote, 1st Baronet (1581–1642), of Castle Cuffe in Queen's County, was an English soldier, administrator and landowner who lived in Ireland. He fought in the

Siege of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale (), also known as the battle of Kinsale, was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of the Nine Years' War� ...

(1601–1602) in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

and led the decisive cavalry charge at the

Battle of Kilrush The Battle of Kilrush was a fought during the Irish Confederate Wars. It was fought on 15 April 1642 between a Royalist army under the Earl of Ormonde and Irish Confederate troops commanded by Lord Mountgarret. Background On 2 April 16 ...

(1642) of the

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 ...

Birth and origins

Charles was born in England, the first son of Sir Nicholas Coote and his second wife, Eleanor Stanhope. His father was a knight from Blo' Norton in Norfolk. His mother, Eleanor, was a daughter of Sir Michael Stanhope and sister of John Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope (died 1621), who furthered Charles's early career.

Early life

In 1600 Coote moved to Ireland as a captain of a company of 100 men in an infantry regiment in the army of Lord Mountjoy,

lord deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, where he fought in the last few years of the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...

. When the

4th Spanish Armada The Fourth Spanish Armada, also known as the Last Armada, was a military expedition sent to Ireland that took place between August 1601 and March 1602 towards the end of Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), Anglo-Spanish war. The armada – the fou ...

took place in Southern Ireland, he was at the

in 1601–1602, which ultimately led to Hugh O'Neill's defeat. In 1605 Coote was appointed Provost-Marshal of Connaught for life and in 1613 was appointed to the office of General Collector and Receiver of the King's composition money for Connaught, also for life. He was knighted in 1616 by

Oliver St John Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English barrister, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life St John was the son o ...

, lord deputy of Ireland.

Marriage and children

Before 1617 Coote married Dorothea, younger daughter and coheir of Hugh Cuffe of Cuffe's Wood,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Charles and Dorothea had five children, four sons: #

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 ''* ...

, who would be created Earl of Mountrath. # Chidley # Richard, became Baron Coote of Coloony and was father of

Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (1636 – 5 March 1700/01In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, d ...

# Thomas (died 1671) of Cootehill in County Cavan —and one daughter # Laetitia, married Sir Francis Hamilton, 1st Baronet, of Killock, also called of Killeshandra,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

Honours

In 1620 Coote was promoted vice-president of Connaught. On 2 April 1621 he was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

(of Castle Cuffe in Queen's County). He became a substantial landowner and served as a commissioner to examine and contest Irish land titles. In 1634 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County, again for life. He was elected Member of Parliament (M.P.) in the

2nd Irish Parliament of King Charles I The Parliament 1640–1649, also called Parliament 1639–1648 using an unadjusted Old Style (O.S.) calendar, was the second of the two Irish parliaments of King Charles I of England. It voted taxes in 1640 and was then overshadowed by the Iri ...

for Queen's County in 1640.

Irish rebellion and death

When the Irish Uprising of 1641 began, Coote was appointed governor of Dublin and told to raise a regiment. Enraged by Irish Catholic atrocities, such as the Portadown Massacre, against Protestants, Coote and his soldiers retaliated with massacres of Catholics and made no distinction between

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

and the traditionally Royalist

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

Catholic population of

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. Coote then marched south to

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, and marching north in 1642 defeated the rebels at

Swords A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

and Kilsallaghan. In addition, Coote was the driving force behind the death by hanging of Friar Peter O'Higgins, the Dominican Prior of

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

who had been responsible for fearlessly saving Protestant lives during the recent

sectarian violence Sectarian violence or sectarian strife is a form of communal violence which is inspired by sectarianism, that is, discrimination, hatred or prejudice between different sects of a particular mode of an ideology or different sects of a religion wi ...

in the district surrounding his monastery. Despite the efforts of James Butler, 12th Earl of Ormond and the many Protestants whom he had rescued to save his life, Fr. O'Higgins was executed at

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...

on 24 March 1642. On 10 April 1642, Ormond sent Coote to relieve the beleaguered garrisons at Birr, Burris, and Knocknamease, after which he rejoined Ormond's main force, which defeated the Irish Confederates at the

on the 15th. Coote led the decisive cavalry charge. In early May he helped capture the garrisons of Philipstown and Trim, but was killed at Trim on 7 May 1642 while leading a sally against an Irish force trying to surprise the town.

Legacy

On 22 September 1992

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Fr. Peter O'Higgins as one of the 17

Irish Catholic Martyrs Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for both a life of heroic virtue and for dying for their Catholic faith between the reign of King Henry VIII and Catholic Emancipation in 1829. The more ...

.Edited by Patrick J. Cornish and Benignus Millet (2005), ''The Irish Martyrs'', Four Courts Press, Dublin. Pages 148–156.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * – 1642 to 1660 * * * * – 1611 to 1625 * * * * – Knights bachelors & Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Coote, Charles 1581 births 1642 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland English army officers English emigrants to Ireland History of County Kildare History of County Westmeath History of County Wicklow Irish MPs 1639–1649 Irish Rebellion of 1641 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Queen's County constituencies Military personnel from Devon People of Elizabethan Ireland Persecution of Catholics Priest hunters