The Earl of Cork | |
|---|---|
 "Master of Her Majesty's Buckhounds". The Earl of Cork as caricatured by Adriano Cecioni in Vanity Fair, January 1872. | |
| Master of the Horse | |
| In office 10 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Bradford |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Portland |
| In office 19 March 1894 – 21 June 1895 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Oxenbridge |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Portland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 April 1829 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 22 June 1904 (aged 75) Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Lady Emily de Burgh (1828–1912) |
| Children | 7, including: Charles Boyle, 10th Earl of Cork Robert Boyle, 11th Earl of Cork |
| Relatives | Edmund Boyle, 8th Earl of Cork (grandfather) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Richard Edmund St Lawrence Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork and 9th Earl of Orrery KP, PC (19 April 1829 – 22 June 1904), styled Viscount Dungarvan between 1834 and 1856, was a British courtier and Liberal politician. In a ministerial career spanning between 1866 and 1895, he served three times as Master of the Buckhounds and twice as Master of the Horse.
Boyle was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, by his wife Lady Catherine St Lawrence, daughter of William St Lawrence, 2nd Earl of Howth. He was the grandson of Edmund Boyle, 8th Earl of Cork. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He became known by the courtesy title Viscount Dungarvan on the early death of his father in 1834.[1] He was a member of Brooks's and White's clubs. On 20 July 1850, he was commissioned a captain in the North Somerset Yeomanry.[2]
Lord Dungarvan was elected Member of Parliament for Frome at a by-election in 1854, a seat he held until 1856, when he succeeded his grandfather in the earldom and entered the House of Lords.[1][3] In 1860 he was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick.[1][4] He became a government member in January 1866,[5] when he was appointed Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Russell, a post he held until the administration fell in July 1866.[6] He was sworn of the Privy Council in May of that year.[7] He was once again Master of the Buckhounds under William Ewart Gladstone between 1868[8] and 1874[9] and between 1880[10] and 1885.[11] In 1882 he was appointed one of the speakers of the House of Lords. When Gladstone became prime minister for the third time in February 1886, Cork was appointed Master of the Horse.[12] However, the government fell in July of the same year. He did not serve in Gladstone's fourth administration of 1892 to 1894, but when Lord Rosebery succeeded as prime minister in March 1894, Cork was once again appointed Master of the Horse.[13] The Liberal government fell in June the following year.
Lord Cork was also Lord Lieutenant of Somerset from 1864 to 1904, an Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria from 1889 to 1899[1] and a Colonel of the North Somerset Yeomanry.[14]
According to John Bateman, who derived his information from statistics published in 1873, Lord Cork, of Marston House, Frome, had 3,398 acres in Somerset (worth 5,094 guineas per annum), 20,195 acres in County Cork (worth 6,943 guineas per annum), 11,531 acres in County Kerry (worth 2,447 guineas per annum), and 3,189 acres in Limerick (worth 2,859 guineas per annum).
He donated the land for the Boyle Cross in the market place of the Somerset town of Frome.
Lord Cork married Lady Emily Charlotte de Burgh (19 October 1828 – 10 October 1912), second daughter of Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde, on 20 July 1853. They had seven children:
Lord Cork died at Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, in June 1904, aged 75, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Charles. The Countess of Cork died in October 1912, aged 83.[1]
