Earl of Cork

“ Richard Boyle became the great Earl of Cork is one of the most brilliant romances of the British Peerage. It has been often told, nowhere more graphically than by the Earl himself, in his brief True Remembrances. [3] So triumphant and so circumstantial, indeed, are the Earl’s “Remembrances,” that many generations of ordinary-minded people have made the mistake of thinking they cannot possibly be true. ”

“ Some of the Cork family,—the Barrymores, and Kynalmeaky, without his wife,—seem to have been already in Ireland in the autumn of 1641; and the Earl of Cork was making his own preparations to return to Lismore. He had been buying six black horses and harnesses for his new light travelling coach, a sedan chair lined with carnation velvet, and a “horslytter,” with two black stone coach-horses. August is a hot month for “feasting” in any case, and the summer of 1641 had been particularly hot, and the plague and smallpox were rife in London ”

“ The title passed to the eldest surviving son, Richard Boyle, 1st earl of Burlington and 2nd earl of Cork (1612–1698) , who matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, and was knighted in 1624. Returning home after travelling abroad he married in 1635 Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Henry, Lord Clifford, later earl of Cumberland. On the outbreak of the rebellion he supported his father in Munster, fought at the battle of Liscarrol, and raised forces for the first war with the Scots. ”

“ Cork, Ireland, in the south parliamentary division, at the head of Clonakilty Bay, 33 m. S.W. of Cork on a branch of the Cork, Bandon & South Coast railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) , 3098. It was brought into prosperity by Richard Boyle, first earl of Cork, and was granted a charter in 1613; but was partly demolished on the occasion of a fight between the English and Irish in 1641. It returned two members to the Irish parliament until the union. In the 18th century there was an extensive linen industry. The present trade is centred in brewing, corn-milling, yarn and farm-produce. ”

“ He soon became the most powerful subject in Ireland. On the 25th of July 1603 he married, as his second wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, secretary of state, and was knighted. In 1606 he became a privy councillor for Munster and in 1613 for Ireland. On the 6th of September 1616 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Boyle, baron of Youghal, and on the 26th of October 1620 was created earl of Cork and Viscount Dungarvan. ”

“ E. of Cork. Pop. (1901) 5393- The collegiate church of St Mary, in the later Decorated style, was erected in the 11th century, but rebuilt in the 13th, and since that time frequently restored. It contains a beautiful monument to the 1st earl of Cork. The college was founded by an earl of Desmond in 1464. There are still a few fragments of the Dominican friary founded in 1269. The Clock Gate (1771) is noticeable, and portions of the old walls are to be seen. ”

“ But in 1822 it was extended to Ireland (1 & 2 Geo. IV. cap. 24) ; and editors of Haydn might note this fact.
[700] General Edward Boyle, eighth Earl of Cork, survived until June 29, 1856, and was the last surviving peer who had sat in the Irish and in the English House of Lords.
[701] See notice of the duel, p. 177, ante.
[702] 'Anonymous letters are flying. My friend got two this week threatening death and destruction if he exerted himself on the approaching trials.' 'My friend' is the 'cipher' by which McNally always means himself.—J. W. to Cooke, July 10, 1798. (MSS. Dublin Castle.) ”

“ The kingdom of Cork, containing that county and the south of Kerry, was another palatinate, granted to Fitz Stephen and Cogan, who made partition between them; and on Fitz Stephen’s death without issue, his part escheated to the crown. Cogan’s share should have gone to the Courcey’s and Carens, but they could never obtain the possession of it; for the earl of Desmond got the estate by purchase from a Cogan who pretended a right, and held it; so this share of the palatinate fell likewise into disuse. ”

“ The fortunes of the Royalist elder brother, Lord Cork, who had been diligently nursing the family fortunes through the Protectorate, were now so far reinstated that he was able to do for Charles II what the Great Earl had done for Charles I. He assisted [228] an impecunious king with sums of money; and in recognition of his services he was, in 1663, to be created Earl of Burlington in the English Peerage. Presently, the great town house—Burlington House in Piccadilly—was being built, next door to the Lord Chancellor’s. ”

“ See Kildare, Countess of ⸺, John, Bishop of Cork, 12, 13, 20 ⸺, Katherine. See Ranelagh, Viscountess ⸺, Lettice. See Goring ⸺, Lewis. See Kynalmeaky, Lord ⸺, Margaret, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 36, 59, 60 ⸺, Mary. See Warwick, Countess of ⸺, Richard. See Cork, 1st Earl of, “The great Earl” ⸺, Richard, Lord Dungarvan, 2nd Earl of Cork, and Earl of Burlington. See Burlington, Earl of ⸺, Richard, son of Earl of Burlington, 258 note Boyle, Robert: Birth and infancy, 1, 2, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 24; in Dublin, 25, 33; at Lismore, 35-39; at Eton, 40-54, 58, 59, 65, 66, 67; at Stalbridge, 68, 69, 70, 72 ”

“ He made it his businesse [461] to advance the trade of England, and many men have printed his conceptions.
Note.
[AU] Aubrey gives in trick the coat:—'ermine, on a bend sable cottised gules, five besants, between 2 eagles proper;' and an impression of Bovey's seal with the same coat.
Richard Boyle, earl of Cork (1566-1643) .
[462] Earl of Corke:—vide countesse of Warwick's funerall sermon, 2 or 3 shops [463] within Paul's churchyard.
[464] Earl of Corke [AV] —Thomas, earl of Strafford made him disgorge 1500 li. per annum, which he restored to the church— Mr. ... Anderson. ”

“ The door of the well being left open, the water, which had been so long confined, rejoiced at obtaining its liberty, rushed forth incessantly, every moment rising higher and higher, and was in the hall of the entertainment sooner than the young prince himself, so that when he attempted to speak to the king he was up to his neck in water. At length the water rose to such a height, that it filled the entire of the green valley in which the king’s palace stood, and so the present lough of Cork was formed. ”

“ There is no record in the Irish annals of the Danes making any attack on Cork after the battle of Clontarf.
The situation of Cork, like that of Dublin and Belfast, is at the mouth of a river, and on low-lying land. While the country round the city is exceedingly fine, it has not, like the country in the neighbourhood of Dublin and Belfast, any places from which extensive views can be had. The country round Cork is by no means flat, but there is nothing near it that could be called a mountain, or even a high hill. ”

“ He landed in Dublin on the 23rd of June 1588, as he relates himself, with £27, 3s. in money, a gold bracelet worth £10, and a diamond ring, besides some fine wearing apparel. He began to make his fortune almost immediately. ”

“ Manchester, Mitchelstown, Middleton, Limerick, and Skibbereen, funeral processions, at which thousands of persons attended, were held; that in Cork being admittedly the most imposing, not only in point of numbers, but in the character of the demonstration and the demeanour of the people.
For more than twenty years Cork city has held an advanced position in the Irish national struggle. In truth, it has been one of the great strongholds of the national cause since 1848. Nowhere else did the national spirit keep its hold so tenaciously and so extensively amidst the people. ”

“ It is, more than any large place in Ireland, a city of hills and hollows. Some of its streets are very steep, rather too much so for pleasant walking. But this hillyness makes it all the more picturesque, and makes the drainage all the better. Cork is a beautiful city, and—surrounded by a beautiful country. If it has not the busy appearance of Belfast, or the metropolitan appearance of Dublin, it is, nevertheless, a fine city, and on account of its magnificent harbour, it has, in all probability, a great and prosperous future before it. ”

“ Buttevant is a poor little place, but containing the ruins of a fine old abbey. Near Buttevant are the ruins of Kilcoleman Castle, at which the great poet Spenser lived, and which was burned by the Irish in a rebellion. The youngest child of the poet perished in the flames.
Cork is usually ranked as the second city of Ireland, and is a handsome, pleasant, prosperous looking place. It has not many interesting antiquities, but some of its modern buildings are very fine. The country around Cork is exceedingly picturesque, and its harbor is very beautiful. ”

“ The citizens are a warm-hearted, quick-witted and high-spirited race, gifted with fine moral qualities, and profoundly attached to the national faith in religion and politics. Merchants, traders, professional men, shopkeepers, artizans, and all, are comparatively free from the spells of Dublin Castle, and the result is visible in their conduct. The crown looks dubiously and anxiously upon a Cork jury; the patriot, when any work for Ireland is in hand, looks hopefully to the Cork people. ”

“ Do you take the left, and then we shall clear one another."
He turned up his long sleeves, shook hands with me, and was out through the low door in a moment with myself at his heels, and we had the long oars in our hands and were charging the two men before they knew that we were not some of their own crew. Then Cork shouted and drew his sword, making for me just as my comrade's levelled weapon struck his man fairly in the chest, so that he doubled up with a howl and was hurled under the rail into the sea. ”

“ The territory of Corca Laighde, which takes its name from the ruling tribe, was conterminous with the diocese of Ross, of which, as we said, St. Fachtna, was founder and first bishop. It extended in ancient times along the south-western coast of Cork from Courtmacsherry Bay to Dursey Head, and included besides East and West Carberry, the modern baronies of Beare and Bantry towards the western margin, as well as the baronies of Ibane and Barryroe on its eastern borders. ”

“ Cork stands on a marshy spot; its name in Irish is Corcaig, signifying a moor or marsh, and the city owes its origin to St. Fin Bar, who first founded a cathedral, in the seventh century, near the south branch of the Lee, and from this beginning Corcaig-more, or the great Cork, arose; and though this city has passed through changes and great sufferings, yet it has for a long time maintained a respectable, if not high standing, for intelligence. Schools are numerous, and some of them of a high order, and the laboring classes are mostly well educated in a plain way. ”

“ I, named in my childhood duke of York and lord of Ireland, now, if rightly styled, Richard the Fourth of England, demand my lieges of Cork to acknowledge my rights, to rise in my cause. I, a prince and an outcast, place myself in their hands, through them to be a fugitive for ever, or a king. ”

“ Young, without fame, in the hour of dire peril he thought not of himself, but of others. We have given Corky the distinction that goes alone to those who put devotion to duty above love of life. The destroyer Cork, like the useful hero for whom it is named, will be game to the last. ”

“ The original site of Cork seems to have been in the vicinity of the Protestant cathedral; St Finbar’s ecclesiastical foundation attracting many students and votaries. In the 9th century the town was frequently pillaged by the Northmen. According to the Annals of the Four Masters a fleet burned Cork in 821, in 846 the Danes appear to have been in possession of the town, for a force was collected to demolish their fortress; and in 1012 Cork again fell in flames. The Danes then appear to have founded the new city on the banks of the Lee as a trading centre. ”

“ CORK AND BLARNEY CASTLE
Cork is a neat but an ugly town, which had a hundred thousand population twenty years ago and now has only eighty thousand. The missing ones, they tell me, have gone to the United States. It is one of the most prosperous and one of the cleanest cities in Ireland, and, although in former years strangers complained of pestiferous beggars, we have not seen a single one. The common people are much better dressed and the children are much neater in their appearance than those of the similar class in Dublin. They don’t buy their clothing at a slopshop. ”

“ Sir Walter Scott is credited with the statement that the history of this single county contains more romance than the [Pg 86] history of the lowlands and highlands of his own dear land of the mountain and the flood.
The surface of the county Cork is as diversified as the people. In some places, such as Kilworth, Mushera, and Ballyhoura, the elevation is considerable, elsewhere it sinks to a low-lying plain, such as at Kilcrea, where the bog is that tradition says saw the last wolf in Ireland killed, and Imokilly, where the sea is yearly eating into the lowlands. ”

“ A little way beyond the Gallows Green of Cork, and just outside the town, there is a great lough of water, where people in the winter go and skate for the sake of diversion; but the sport above the water is nothing to what is under it, for at the very bottom of this lough there are buildings and gardens, far more beautiful than any now to be seen, and how they came there was in this manner.
Long before Saxon foot pressed Irish ground, there was a great king called Core, whose palace stood where the lough now is, in a round green valley, that was just a mile about. ”