Sir Richard "the Great Earl" Boyle

1st Earl of Cork, 1st Viscount Dungarvan, 1st Baron Boyle of Youghal, Lord High Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland

Born: 3 Oct 1566 in Canterbury, Kent, England

Father: Roger Boyle of Canterbury and Preston, by Faversham, Kent

Born: abt 1524 in Herefordshire, England
Died: 24 Mar 1576 in Preston near Faversham, Kent, England
Buried: in Preston near Faversham, Kent, England

Mother: Joan Naylor (daughter of John Naylor)

Born: 15 Oct 1529 in Canterbury, Kent, England
Married: 6 Oct 1565 in Canterbury, Kent, England
Died: 26 Mar 1586 in Faversham, Kent, England
Buried: in Preston near Faversham, Kent, England

Wife (1): Joan Apsley (daughter of William Apsley, of Limerick)

Born: abt 1578 in Limerick, Ireland
Married: 6 Nov 1595 in Limerick, Ireland
Died: 14 Dec 1599 in Moyallow, Ireland - during childbirth
Buried: in Buttevant, co Cork, Ireland

Wife (2): Catherine Fenton (only daughter of Alice Weston and Sir Geoffrey Fenton)

Born: abt 1582
Married: 25 Jul 1603 in Dublin, Ireland
Children:
- Roger Boyle
  - Born: 1 Aug 1606 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Died: 10 Oct 1615 unmarried in Deptford, Kent, England
  - Buried: in Deptford, Kent, England
- Lady Alice Boyle
  - Born: 20 Mar 1607 in the College, Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married (1): David Barry, 1st Earl of Barrymore on 21 Jul 1631
  - Married (2): John Barry, of Liscarroll, co Cork, Ireland
  - Died: 23 Jun 1667 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Buried: in St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
- Lady Sarah Boyle
  - Born: 29 Mar 1609
  - Married (1): Sir Thomas Moore (son of Sir Garret Lord Moore, Viscount of Drogheda) in abt 1623
  - Married (2): Robert Digby, 1st Baron Digby of Geashill in Kings county, of the kingdom of Ireland (son of Lettice Offaley, Baroness Offaley and Sir Robert Digby) on 15 Dec 1626
  - Died: 14 Jul 1633
- Lady Lettice Boyle
  - Born: 23 Apr 1610
  - Married: Col George Goring, Lord Goring (son of George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich) on 25 Jul 1629
  - Died: Jul 1657
- Lady Joan Boyle
  - Born:14 June 1611
  - Married: George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare on 15 Aug 1630
- Sir Richard "the Rich" Boyle 2nd Earl of Cork, 1st Earl of Burlington, Lord high treasurer of the kingdom of Ireland, Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky, Baron of Bandon Bridge, 1st Baron Clifford of Lanesborough in the county of York
  - Born: 20 Oct 1612 at the College of Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married: Elizabeth Clifford (daughter of Henry Lord Clifford, 5th Earl of Cumberland) on 5 Jul 1635 in Skipton Castle, Skipton, Yorkshire, England
  - Died: 13 Jan 1697-8
  - Buried: 3 Feb 1697-8 in Lanesborough, Yorkshire, England
- Lady Catherine Boyle
  - Born: 22 Mar 1614
  - Married: Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh (son of Frances Moore and Roger Jones)
  - Died: 23 Dec 1691
- Geffrey Boyle
  - Born: 10 Apr 1616 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Died: 20 Jan 1617 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland {It should be noted that the Boyle Monument in St Mary's Church, Youghal shows both birth and death in 1616 which is clearly incorrect}
- Lady Dorothy Boyle
  - Born: 31 Dec 1617
  - Married (1): Sir Arthur Loftus (eldest son of Sir Adam Loftus, of Rathfarnham and Jane Vaughn) on 4 Mar 1624
  - Married (2): Gilbert Talbot (son of William Talbot, of Carton) on 27 Mar 1665 in Dublin, Ireland
  - Died: 26 Mar 1668
  - Buried: 29 Mar 1668 in the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Patrick, Dublin, Ireland
- Sir Lewis "the Valiant" Boyle Baron of Bandon Bridge, Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky
  - Born: 28 May 1619 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married: Lady Elizabeth Fielding, Countess of Guildford (daughter of Sir William Fielding, Baron Fielding of Newenham Paddox, Warwickshire, Viscount Fielding and 1st Earl of Denbigh) on 26 Dec 1638 in Chapel Royal, Westminster, Middlesex, England
  - Died: 2 Sep 1643 at the Battle of Liscarroll, co Cork, Ireland
  - Buried: in Lismore, co Cork, Ireland
- Sir Roger "the Wise" Boyle 1st Earl of Orrery, Baron of Broghil, Lord President of Munster
  - Born: 25 Apr 1621 in Lismore, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married: Lady Margaret Howard (3rd daughter of Lord Theophilus Howard of Walden, 2nd Earl of Suffolk and Elizabeth Hume) on 27 Jan 1640/41 in Lord Aubigny's House, Queen Street, Westminster, Middlesex, England
  - Died: 16 Oct 1679 in Castlemartyr, co Cork, Ireland
  - Buried: 18 Oct 1679 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
- Francis "the Wise" Boyle 1st Viscount Shannon
  - Born: 25 Jun 1623 in Ballinrea, Carrigaline, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married: Elizabeth Killegrew (daughter of Sir Robert Killegrew and Mary Woodhouse) on 24 Oct 1638 in Whitehall, Westminster, Middlesex, England
  - Died: 1699
  - Buried: 19 Apr 1699 in St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
- Lady Mary Boyle
  - Born: 11 Nov 1624 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
  - Married: Charles Riche, 4th Earl of Warwick on 21 Jul 1641 in Shepperton, Middlesex, England
  - Died: 12 Apr 1673 in Leighs, Essex, England
  - Buried: 30 Apr 1673 in Felstead, Essex, England
- Robert "the Philosopher" Boyle of Stalbridge, in Dorsetshire
  - Born: 25 Jan 1627 in Lismore, co Waterford, Ireland
  - Died: 30 Dec 1691 in London, England
  - Buried: in the chancel of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, England
- Lady Margaret Boyle
  - Born: 30 Apr 1629 in Westminster, London, England
  - Christened: 28 May 1629 in St Margaret, Westminster, London, England
  - Died: unmarried
  - Buried: in the Boyle Memorial within the South Transept of St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal, co Cork, Ireland
Died: 16 Feb 1629-30 in Dublin, Ireland
Buried: 11 Mar 1629/30 in the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Patrick, Dublin, Ireland

Key Historical Events:

Imprisoned by Sir William FitzWilliam for embezzling records about 1592
Knighted at St Mary's Abbey, near Dublin, by Sir George Carew on 25 July 1603. It was this same day that he married his second wife Katherine Fenton.
At a Parliament held in the Castle of Dublin returned as a member for Lismore on 18 May 1614
Created Lord Boyle, baron of Youghal in the county of Cork by King James I on 6 September 1616
Created Viscount Dungarvan in the county of Waterford and Earl of Cork of the Kingdom of Ireland on 26 October 1620
Appointed as one of Lords justices of Ireland on 26 October 1629
Promoted Lord High Treasurer of the kingdom of Ireland by King Charles I on 9 November 1631

Died: 15 Sep 1643 in Youghal, co Cork, Ireland

Buried: in St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal, co Cork, Ireland

Richard was educated at Bennett's College, Cambridge and the Middle Temple, London. He was unable to find a financial reason to complete his legal studies so decided to move to Ireland in search of advancement. He landed on 23 June 1588 with £27 3s, a diamond ring and bracelet and the clothes he stood in. He acquired substantial fortune by exploiting legal uncertainties of many land titles and thanks to the riches of his first wife. Sir George Carew suggested Richard's name to Sir Walter Raleigh as a potential purchaser of his Irish estates and in 1602 acquired 12,000 acres in Munster.

Richard had a great influence on Youghal and the surrounding area. He brought many settlers, mostly from the Bristol area, to produce pig iron. The building of Youghal's town walls commenced in the 1200's and was completed by Richard. In 1610 Richard built the Free School which was later used as homes for veterans. In the south transept of St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal Richard built a large mausoleum depicting himself, his two wives and his 15 children. It is John Boyle, Richard's brother, who is buried within. He also had a monument built in the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Patrick, Dublin, Ireland for his wife Katherine and her family.