The Rt Hon. Catherine Fenton Boyle, Countess of Cork (1588 – 16 February 1630), was an
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
aristocrat and the wife of
the 1st Earl of Cork.
Biography
Catherine Fenton Boyle was born around 1588. She was the only daughter of
Sir Geoffrey Fenton, the
Secretary of State for Ireland 1580–1608, and Alice (née Weston). Her maternal grandfather was
Robert Weston,
Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and her grandmother was his first wife Alice Jenyngs. She had one brother, Sir William Fenton. On 25 July 1603, she married an Englishman,
Richard Boyle, who was later created, in October 1620, 1st
Earl of Cork. Her dowry of £1,000 allowed Boyle to purchase the estates of
Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...
in East Cork. She could have been as young as 15 at the time of the marriage, and Richard was 37. The age difference may have made Richard paternalistic towards Catherine, allowing her little freedom even in domestic affairs. He oversaw the household accounts, purchased and chose his wife's clothes, did not allow her to borrow money, and did not seek her opinion on the education or marriages of their children. He commented on her as being "most religious, virtuous, loving and obedient". The family moved to
Youghal
Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...
in 1605, where Richard bought the lease of a former college, converting it into a home. He purchased the
Chantry of our Blessed Saviour, and made it into a family mortuary chapel. Lord Cork, as he later became, was eventually buried there, but not Catherine, his wife. However, she is represented in the chapel by a marble effigy in the state robe of a
countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
.
Her husband purchased
Lismore Castle, moving the family there, where the family divided their time between the castle and Cork House in Dublin. Catherine, Countess of Cork, as she was styled by that time, died on 16 February 1630 in Cork House, Dublin, and was buried with her father and grandfather in
St Patrick's Cathedral. Her husband, the by now elderly Lord Cork, erected a marble tomb in their honour at the upper end of the chancel, but the new
Lord Deputy of Ireland,
Lord Wentworth, forced the movement of the tomb to the side of the cathedral. Lord Cork did not remarry, and dedicated the anniversary of her death to mourning each year. A book of elegies was printed in her honour, composed by the fellows of
Trinity College, Dublin, titled ''Musarum Lachrymae''.
Issue

Catherine, Countess of Cork, had 15 children with Richard, 1st Earl of Cork, 12 of whom survived into adulthood.
*Roger Boyle (25 April 1621,
Youghal
Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...
,
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 ...
, Ireland–16 October 1679,
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
,
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England, where he was buried).
*Lady Alice Boyle (1607–1667), married
the 1st Earl of Barrymore, then after his death, married John Barry, of Liscarroll, County Cork, Ireland.
*Lady Sarah Boyle (1609–1633), married Sir Thomas Moore, then after his death married
the 1st Baron Digby.
*Lady Lettice Boyle (1610–1657), married
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Lord Goring.
*Lady Joan Boyle (1611–1657), married
the 16th Earl of Kildare ("the Fairy Earl").
*
Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork and 1st Earl of Burlington (1612–1698),
Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (1660–1695).
*
Lady Katherine Boyle (1615–1691), married
the 2nd Viscount Ranelagh.
*Hon. Geoffrey Boyle (1616–1617)
*Lady Dorothy Boyle (1617–1668), married
Sir Arthur Loftus of
Rathfarnham and was the mother of
the 1st Viscount Lisburne.
*Lewis Boyle, 1st
Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky (1619–1642), succeeded under special remainder by his older brother Richard.
*
Richard, 1st Earl of Orrery (1621–1679)
*
Francis, 1st Viscount Shannon (1623–1699)
*
Lady Mary Boyle (1625–1678), married
the 4th Earl of Warwick.
*Hon.
Robert Boyle (1627–1691), author of ''
The Sceptical Chymist''; considered to be the father of modern
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
.
*Lady Margaret Boyle (1629–1637)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Catherine Fenton
1630 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Catherine
17th-century Anglo-Irish people
Cork
Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin