Joan Apsley (1578 – 14 December 1599), the maiden name of Joan Boyle, was the first wife of

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as 'the Great Earl of Cork', was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continu ...

. She was one of two daughters and co-heirs of William Apsley, of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, one of the council to the first President of the province of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. Joan was the heiress of lands in Galbally,Townshend, D,
The Life and Letters of the Great Earl of Cork
', London, 1904 with a fortune greater than that of Richard Boyle. Joan was said to have been "charmed by Mr. Boyle's conversation," and her father allowed them to marry. She married Boyle at Limerick on 6 November 1595, she being 17 and he 28. This marriage brought her husband an estate worth £500 a year, "the beginning and foundation of my fortune", Lodge, John, &

Archdall, Mervyn Mervyn Archdall (1723 – 1791) was an Irish antiquary and clergyman of the Church of Ireland. Life He was descended from John Archdale, of Abbotts Hall, Darsham, in Suffolk, who settled at Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh as an Undertaker ...

, A.M., ''The Peerage of Ireland'', Dublin, 1789, vol.1, p. 152 which he continued to receive until at least 1632. She died during childbirth aged 21 in Mallow,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and was buried with her still-born son in

Buttevant Buttevant (; ) is a medieval market town in County Cork, Ireland. The town was incorporated by charter of Edward III in the 14th century. While there are reasons to suggest that the town may occupy the site of an earlier settlement of the Do ...

church,

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. Boyle's detractors maintained that unlike many of his other close relatives whom he took great care to commemorate, Richard took no trouble to have Joan, his first wife commemorated after her death. Boyle commemorated Joan in the south chapel, known as the Chantry of our Blessed Saviour, of

St. Mary's Collegiate Church The Collegiate Church of Mary (mother of Jesus), St Mary the Virgin is a Church of Scotland parish church in Haddington, East Lothian, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland. Building work on the church was started in 1380, and further building an ...

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 ...

, which he purchased in 1606 to make it into a mortuary chapel for his family. This tomb, completed in 1619, depicts Joan kneeling at her husband's feet dressed in "a richly brocaded purple gown." This led to the conviction among some that his monumental commemorative endeavours were motivated by how they could help achieve his personal objectives, rather than sentimental, as Joan's connections were of no direct use to him after her death. His strongest commemoration of Joan might be in the name he gave his fourth daughter but this may of course have been given in memory of his mother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apsley, Joan 1578 births 1599 deaths People from Canterbury 16th-century Anglo-Irish people 16th-century English women Deaths in childbirth