Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon

Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon (12 May 1809 – 1 August 1868), styled Viscount Boyle until 1842, was a British politician of the Whig party. He served as Member of Parliament for Cork County from 1830 to 1832.[1][2]

Background

Boyle was the son of Henry Boyle, 3rd Earl of Shannon and his wife, Sarah, daughter of John Hyde of Castle Hyde[1][2] and his wife, Sarah Burton.[3] Hyde was a descendant of the Hyde family of Denchworth in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).

Political career

Boyle was elected a Member of Parliament for County Cork in the 1830 United Kingdom general election and re-elected in the 1831 United Kingdom general election.[4]

The Reform Act 1832 (including the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832) increased the number of individuals entitled to vote, increasing the size of electorate by 50–80%, and allowing a total of 653,000 adult males (around one in five) to vote, in a population of some 14 million.[5]

In the 1832 general election which followed, Boyle failed to be re-elected, defeated by Feargus O'Connor, a leader of the Chartist movement, and Garrett Standish Barry.[4] Barry was a Catholic, one of the first one elected to Parliament following the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.[6] On 22 April 1842, his father died and Boyle succeeded him. He held no other political office until his death.[1][2]

Family

On 28 May 1832, Lord Shannon married Emily Henrietta Seymour in London. She was a daughter of Lord George Seymour-Conway and Isabella Hamilton.[7] His father-in-law was a son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and his wife Lady Isabella Fitzroy.[8] His mother-in-law was a daughter of the Reverend George Hamilton, Canon of Windsor (1718–1787) and his wife Elizabeth Onslow.[9]

They had two sons:[7]

References
  1. Listing of the Earls of Shannon and their descendants in Wombat's Family Forest Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "The Boyle Family Genealogy:" Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon"". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  3. Leo van de Pas, "Descendants of Mary Tudor, Princess of England", gen 9/1-29 of 19 generations Archived 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Leigh Rayment, List of Members of Parliament: "The House of Commons constituencies starting with C"[Usurped!]
  5. Marcus, Jane (ed.) (2001). "Women's Source Library Vol.VIII: Suffrage and the Pankhursts", p. 132
  6. "Cork County Library:"The Standish Barry Family"". Archived from the original on 22 November 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  7. Lundy, Darryl. "Profile of Emily Henrietta Seymour in Peerage.com". The Peerage.
  8. Lundy, Darryl. "Profile of Francis Seymour-Conway in Peerage.com". The Peerage.
  9. Lundy, Darryl. "Profile of George Hamilton in Peerage.com". The Peerage.
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