Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736 – 5 June 1807) was an Irish politician. After a distinguished career in North America with the British Army, Roche became a member of the Irish House of Commons in 1775, generally acting in support of the viceregal government. He is better remembered for the language of his speeches than for 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!"

While these Irish bulls have led many writers to portray Roche as a buffoon, other biographers have interpreted them not as blunders, but as calculated attempts to disarm opposition to ministerial policies through humour. Roche ended his political career with the passage of the Act of Union 1800, which he supported. He chose not to attempt to enter the British House of Commons and retired on a government pension until his death, married but childless, in 1807.

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.

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 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. In the same year, Boyle Roche entered the Irish House of Commons as

Member of Parliament (MP) for Tralee, a seat he held until 1776.

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:

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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.</blockquote>

In Dublin, Roche was a member of the Kildare Street Club.

thumb|250px|The Irish House of Commons by [[Francis Wheatley (painter)|Francis Wheatley (1780)]]

Member of Parliament

Roche continued on in the Grattan Parliament, representing Gowran from 1777 to 1783, Portarlington from 1784 to 1790, Tralee (again) from 1790 to 1798 and Old Leighlin from 1798 until the union with Great Britain in 1801.

It was during this period (in 1782) that Roche coined the term "Protestant Ascendancy".

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.

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.

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."

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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.

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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 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." Boyle Roche married Mary Frankland of Great Thirkleby Hall, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland, Bt, whose family name goes back to the time of William the Conqueror. Although childless, Boyle and Lady Mary appeared to have lived a life of uninterrupted happiness. thus: "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:

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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.

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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.

Footnotes

  • Section on Sir Boyle Roche from The Percy Anecdotes
  • Full text of Maye's article on Roche (cited above)