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Boyle Roche

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History
1750-1900; Historical figures; Political People

   Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet
   Member, Irish House of Commons
              In office
   1775 –  1801
   Preceded by  James Agar
       Born     October 1736
                County Galway
       Died     5 June 1807
                Dublin
    Residence   Dublin
   Constituency Tralee
                Gowran
                Portarlington
                Old Leighlin
     Religion   Anglican
      Spouse    Mary Frankland

   Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet, MP (October 1736 – 5 June 1807) was a
   member of the Irish House of Commons. He is better remembered for the
   language of his speeches than his politics—they were riddled with mixed
   metaphors ("Mr Speaker, I smell a rat; I see him forming in the air and
   darkening the sky; but I'll nip him in the bud"), malapropisms and
   other unfortunate turns of phrase ("Why we should put ourselves out of
   our way to do anything for posterity, for what has posterity ever done
   for us?"). Roche may have been Richard Brinsley Sheridan's model for
   Mrs Malaprop. While arguing for a bill, Roche once said, "It would
   surely be better, Mr. Speaker, to give up not only a part, but, if
   necessary, even the whole, of our constitution, to preserve the
   remainder!"

Life

Early life, family background and military service

   Boyle Roche was born, the youngest of three sons, to Jordan Roche and
   Ellen White in County Galway in 1736. His was an old and respectable
   family, said to be a junior branch of the ancient baronial house of
   Roche, viscount Fermoy from which the late Diana, Princess of Wales,
   descended. The family were also no strangers to politics: Roche's
   great-grandfather had been elected mayor of Limerick four times.
   Roche's older brother was Tiger Roche, a celebrated duellist and
   adventurer.

   Boyle Roche entered the army at an early age, and served in the
   so-called American war (that is, the American portion of the Seven
   Years' War). There are reports of a Lieutenant Boyle Roche in Rogers'
   Rangers who was captured by the French during the The Battle on
   Snowshoes (near what is now Lake George, New York in March 1758) and
   later returned to his regiment. It is possible that Roche served with
   Wolfe at the siege of Quebec in 1759; it is a certainty that he
   distinguished himself in 1762 during the capture of El Morro in Havana.
   By 1770 he had become a major in the 28th Foot. He was knighted for his
   bravery at El Morro in 1776.

   Retiring from the army, he obtained an office in the Irish revenue
   department in 1775. Soon after this, Boyle Roche entered the Irish
   House of Commons as MP for Tralee, in the place of James Agar, created
   Viscount Clifden.

   Although he was one of the first volunteers to fight the rebellious
   colonials in 1776, his contribution to that conflict was mainly in the
   area of recruitment—he successfully enlisted 500 volunteers in one
   weekend in Limerick alone, a feat which so gratified Lord Kenmare that
   he paid Roche an additional bounty of half a guinea per man. Roche's
   flamboyant recruiting methods were described by the Edinburgh
   Advertiser as follows:

     Yesterday Major BOYLE Roche, representative in parliament for Tralee
     (who is raising a body of men for his Majesty's service) began
     recruiting here, and met with great success, which is not
     surprising, if we consider his connexions, and the uncommon support
     he has received from the noblemen and gentlemen of this province.
     His method of enlisting was as uncommon as it was pleasing to those
     who viewed the procession, which was as follows: Major Roche,
     bearing a large purse of gold. Captain Cowley. A great number of
     likely recruits. An elegant band of music, consisting of French
     horns, hautboys [oboes], clarionets, and bassoons, playing God Save
     the King. A large brewer's dray, with five-barrels of beer, the
     horse richly caparisoned and ornamented with ribbands. Two draymen
     with cockades to serve the beer, The recruiting serjeant. Drums
     [and] fifes. Another division of recruits. The returning soldiers.
     Prodigious concourse of [spectators?]. The following speech was made
     by Major Roche to the populace: Being appointed, through the favour
     of [our] most excellent governor, to raise a body of men for the
     service of his Majesty, I think it [a] most happy circumstance of my
     life to be the instrument of leading you to honour and renown. The
     laurels fought for and obtained in all parts [of] the globe
     [through] war, have procured us a fame so glorious as not to be
     equalled by people in any fame not to be sullied by the assaults of
     prejudice, nor the effects of time: not an action in which we were
     not victorious, not a siege in which we were not honoured. Will you,
     my dear countrymen, permit those laurels to fade, or those actions
     to be forgotten? No, forbid it, heaven! Let us now that we have it
     in our power convey to later posterity a renewal of our fidelity,
     and a confirmation of our loyalty. A more critical period never
     presented itself, nor had we ever a fairer opportunity of shewing
     our attachment to the illustrious house of Hanover, than the
     present, as his Majesty's deluded subjects in America are in open
     rebellion, and like unnatural children, wound their ever indulgent
     parent, forgetting the torrents of blood spilt, and heap of treasure
     expended for their preservation. His Sacred Majesty now calls and
     our fidelity obliges us, and I hope your instinct prompts you, to
     obey the dictates of so [grand] a master. Let us then, my brave and
     loyal countrymen, join hearts and hands and cheerfully step forth in
     the glorious cause of our Creator, our King and our Country.

Member of Parliament

   Roche continued on in the Grattan Parliament, representing Gowran from
   1777 to 1783, Portarlington from 1783 to 1790, Tralee (again) from 1790
   to 1797 and Old Leighlin from 1798 until the union with England in
   1801. From the beginning of his parliamentary career Roche ranged
   himself on the side of the government, and for his services he was
   granted a pension, appointed chamberlain to the viceregal court, and on
   30 November 1782 was created a baronet. For the office of chamberlain
   he was thought to be "eminently qualified by his handsome figure,
   graceful address and ready wit, qualities which were set off by a
   frank, open and manly disposition."

   Apparently, members of the cabinet wrote speeches for Sir Boyle which
   he somewhat imperfectly committed to memory, in general mastering the
   substance but frequently producing, through his love of language and
   ornament, travesties on the original words. Through this he gained his
   lasting reputation as an inveterate perpetrator of Irish bulls.

   Sir Boyle's memory was indeed excellent. On one occasion he illustrated
   both the accuracy of his memory and the audacity of his character at
   the expense of a brother member. Serjeant Stanley, anxious to produce
   an effect in an important debate, had been at pains to reduce his
   speech to writing. Unluckily, Stanley happened to drop his manuscript
   in the coffee-room, and walked back into the House unconscious of his
   loss. Sir Boyle, finding the document, speedily mastered its contents,
   and, rising at the first opportunity, delivered the speech almost
   verbatim in the hearing of its dismayed and astonished author. His
   apology afterward only added insult to injury:

     Here, my dear Stanley, is your speech again, and I thank you kindly
     for the loan of it. I never was so much at a loss for a speech in
     the whole course of my life, and sure it is not a pin the worse for
     the wear.

   On another occasion, he amused and relieved the House, irritated by the
   prospect of being obliged to listen to the reading of a mass of
   documents as a preliminary to a resolution, by suggesting that a dozen
   or so clerks be called in who might read the documents simultaneously
   and thus dispose of the business in a few minutes.

   Beyond these efforts, he was also the author of a bill to enact, among
   other things, that "Every quart bottle should contain a quart."

The Volunteer Convention

   The chief service Boyle Roche rendered his government was in connection
   with the Volunteer Convention of November 1783, in which he "acted a
   part only less remarkable than his immunity from the opprobrium which
   might have been expected to attach to it." The question of admitting
   the Roman Catholics to the franchise was at the time being agitated,
   and found many warm supporters in the convention. The proposal was
   extremely obnoxious to the Irish government, and on the second day of
   the meeting the secretary of state, George Ogle, announced that the
   Roman Catholics, in the person of Lord Kenmare, had relinquished the
   idea of making any claim further than the religious liberty they then
   enjoyed, and gave as his authority for this extraordinary statement Sir
   Boyle Roche, by whom it was confirmed!

   Ten days later Lord Kenmare (who had not been in Dublin at the time)
   denied that he had given the least authority to any person to make any
   such statement in his name. However, his disavowal came too late: the
   anti-catholic party in the convention had found time to organize
   themselves, and when the intended Reform Bill took shape it was known
   that the admission of Roman Catholics to the franchise was not to form
   part of the scheme.

   Several months later (on Valentine's Day), Sir Boyle explained himself
   in a public letter, starting with a description of his alarm upon
   hearing that the bishop of Derry (then Frederick Hervey) and his
   associates were bent on extending the legislative privilege:

     I thought a crisis was arrived in which Lord Kenmare and the heads
     of that body should step forth to disavow those wilde projects, and
     to profess their attachment to the lawful powers. Unfortunately, his
     lordship was at a great distance, and most of my other friends were
     out of the way. I therefore resolved on a bold stroke, and
     authorized only by the sentiments of the persons in question, [took
     action].

   He added that while he regretted that his message had been disowned by
   Lord Kenmare, that was of less consequence, since his manoeuvre had
   succeeded to admiration. Some believe that Sir Boyle, who was related
   to Lord Kenmare and often represented his views in Commons, was also
   stating Lord Kenmare's true views on this occasion and doing so with
   his full knowledge, but in a way that provided Kenmare plausible
   deniability.

   Sir Boyle fought hard for the Union:

     Gentlemen may tither, and tither, and tither, and may think it a bad
     measure; but their heads at present are hot, and will so remain till
     they grow cool again, and so they can't decide right now, but when
     the day of judgement comes then honourable gentlemen will be
     satisfied with this most excellent union.

   For himself, he declared that his love for England and Ireland was so
   great that he "would have the two sisters embrace like one brother."

His life in politics

   Those who placidly accept the judgement that Sir Boyle Roche was "the
   Fool of the Grattan Parliament" should reflect on the fact that for
   almost 25 years he served as Gentleman Usher and Master of Ceremonies
   to the Irish Court, "an office for which a dignified and decorous
   demeanor is among the chief essentials."

   Roche was also capable of humor which was both subtle and
   unquestionably intentional. Once, upon hearing his opponent John
   Philpot Curran expostulate that he could be "the guardian of his own
   honour," Sir Boyle offered his "congratulations to the honourable
   member on his possession of a sinecure." On another occasion, when the
   Opposition tried to cough him down in a debate, Sir Boyle met the
   interruption by producing some bullets, with the observation "I have
   here some excellent pills to cure a cough." His personal courage being
   beyond dispute, this jest was quite sufficient in those duelling days
   to procure attention for the remainder of his speech.

Marriage, retirement and death

   On 20 October 1778, Boyle Roche married Mary Frankland of Great
   Thirkleby Hall ( Spofforth, Yorkshire), daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas
   Frankland, Bt, whose family name goes back to the time of William the
   Conqueror. Although childless, Sir Boyle and Lady Mary appeared to have
   lived a life of uninterrupted happiness.

   After the Union and the dissolution of the Irish Parliament, Sir Boyle
   received a £400 pension, and an addition £300 annually in his capacity
   as "Surveyor of Kenmare River," a post which had been invented as a
   reward and required no work. Thus provided for, he was able to spend
   the rest of his days in comfort.

   Sir Boyle Roche died at his house in 63 Eccles Street, Dublin, on 5
   June 1807, and was buried in St. Mary's Church, Dublin, on 9 June. Mary
   lived on until 1831.

Sir Boyle Roche's bird

   Sir Boyle is perhaps best known for once excusing an absence in
   Parliament thusly: "Mr. Speaker, it is impossible I could have been in
   two places at once, unless I were a bird." This quotation was
   referenced by Ambrose Bierce in The Devil's Dictionary in his
   definition of ubiquity:

     In recent times ubiquity has not always been understood — not even
     by Sir Boyle Roche, for example, who held that a man cannot be in
     two places at once unless he is a bird.

   But Roche was not uttering a malapropism here, he was quoting, and
   quoting correctly. The line appears in Jevon’s play, The Devil of a
   Wife, as follows:

          Wife: I cannot be in two places at once.

          Husband (Rowland): Surely no, unless thou wert a bird.

   So, far from committing a solecism, Sir Boyle was making a witty reply
   that demonstrated at once his quickness, his literacy and his excellent
   memory.
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