Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (1630 – 14 August 1691), the youngest of sixteen children of
Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet-Life:He was son of Robert Talbot of Carton, co. Kildare, and grandson of Sir Thomas Talbot of Malahide, co. Dublin. He was educated for the law, and attained a leading position as a lawyer in Dublin...
, of
CartonCarton House is one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster. Located 14 miles west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton demesne runs to 1,100 acres . For two hundred years it possessed the finest example in Ireland...
, and his wife, Alison Netterville was descended from an old Norman family that had settled in
LeinsterLeinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland. It lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. Leinster has the largest population of the four provinces of Ireland...
in the twelfth century. Like most
Old EnglishThe Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries and their nobility were effectively the ruling class in the...
families in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, the Talbots had adopted the customs of the
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
and had, like the Irish, adhered to the Catholic faith. He married Katherine Baynton in 1669.
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (1630 – 14 August 1691), the youngest of sixteen children of
Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet-Life:He was son of Robert Talbot of Carton, co. Kildare, and grandson of Sir Thomas Talbot of Malahide, co. Dublin. He was educated for the law, and attained a leading position as a lawyer in Dublin...
, of
CartonCarton House is one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster. Located 14 miles west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton demesne runs to 1,100 acres . For two hundred years it possessed the finest example in Ireland...
, and his wife, Alison Netterville was descended from an old Norman family that had settled in
LeinsterLeinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland. It lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. Leinster has the largest population of the four provinces of Ireland...
in the twelfth century. Like most
Old EnglishThe Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries and their nobility were effectively the ruling class in the...
families in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, the Talbots had adopted the customs of the
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
and had, like the Irish, adhered to the Catholic faith. He married Katherine Baynton in 1669. They had two daughters, Katherine and Charlotte. Baynton died in 1679. Talbot later married
Frances JenningsFrances Talbot, Countess of Tyrconnel was a noteworthy figure at the English Restoration-era court, along with her younger sister, Sarah Jennings...
, sister of Sarah Jennings (the future Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough). He was also known by the
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
"Mad Dick" Talbot.
During the
Irish Confederate WarsThis article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
that followed the
Irish Rebellion of 1641The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, but developed into inter communal violence between native Irish and English and Scottish Protestant settlers, starting a conflict known as the Irish Confederate Wars....
, Talbot served in
Confederate IrelandConfederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
's Leinster army as cavalry
cornetCornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
or junior officer. He was taken prisoner by the
ParliamentariansThe Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. The English Parliament traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot. In 1066, William of Normandy brought a feudal system, by which he sought advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
after the battle of Dungans Hill in 1647, but was ransomed back to his own side. In 1649, he also survived the Cromwellian
Sack of DroghedaDrogheda, a town in eastern Ireland, was besieged twice in the 1640s, during the Irish Confederate Wars and the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The first siege occurred during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when Phelim O'Neill and the insurgents failed to take the town...
, escaping from the garrison before it was massacred. Shortly after this, he fled Ireland, to join his fellow defeated Royalists in France.
Talbot had been introduced to
Charles IICharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
and James, Duke of York (later
James IIJames II & VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
), when they were exiles in
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
, as a result of the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
. Talbot then lived like many other royalist refugees, partly by casual military service, but also by acting as a subordinate agent in plots to upset the Commonwealth and murder
CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
. He was arrested in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in November 1655 and was examined by Cromwell. Once more he escaped, but it was said by his enemies that he was bribed by Cromwell, with whom one of his brothers was certainly in correspondence. He was actively engaged in an infamous intrigue to ruin the character of
Anne HydeLady Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York , and the mother of two monarchs, Mary II of England and Scotland and Anne of Great Britain.-Early years:...
, the Duke's wife-to-be, but continued in James's employment and saw some service at sea in the naval wars with the Dutch. After the
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
he continued to have a place in the household of the
Duke of YorkThe title Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch...
. Talbot accumulated money by acting as agent for Irish Roman Catholics who sought to recover their confiscated property. He was arrested for supposed complicity in the
Popish PlotThe Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates which gripped England in anti-Catholic hysteria from 1678 until 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II. These accusations would eventually lead to the execution of at...
agitation in 1678, but was allowed to go into exile.
After the accession of James II in 1685, he was created
Baron of Talbotstown,
Viscount Baltinglass and
Earl of Tyrconnell (2nd creation), and sent as commander in chief of the forces in Ireland. In this capacity and as
Lord Deputy of IrelandThe Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Kingdom of Ireland.*Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare *Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane...
(1687–88) he placed Catholics in positions of control in the state and the militia, which the
Duke of OrmondeJames Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC , was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier. He was the top commander of the Royalist forces in Ireland from 1641 to 1647 fighting against the Irish Catholic Confederation. From 1649 to 1650 he was top commander of the Royalist forces fighting against the...
had previously organised. Consequently the entire Roman Catholic population sided with James II in the
Glorious RevolutionThe Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England...
. Thus, in 1689, when James landed at
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
with his French officers, Tyrconnell had an Irish army ready to assist him. His role in the Revolution was satirised in the contemporary folk song,
LillibulleroLillibullero is a march that sets the words of a satirical ballad generally said to be by Lord Thomas Wharton to music attributed to Henry Purcell. Although Purcell published Lillibullero in his compilation Music's Handmaid of 1689 as "a new Irish tune", it is probable that Purcell hijacked the...
. After James came to Ireland, he created him
Duke of Tyrconnell and
Marquess of Tyrconnell, titles recognised only by the
JacobitesJacobitism was the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. After defeat in the
Battle of the BoyneThe Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thrones - the Catholic King James and the Protestant King William, who had deposed James in 1688...
in 1690, Tyrconnell went to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
for aid. He returned to Ireland in 1691, but died of
apoplexyApoplexy is an outdated medical term, which can be used to mean 'bleeding'. It can be used non-medically to mean a state of extreme rage or excitement...
just before the fall of
LimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland,
[Information based on Central Statistics Office figures from 2006, which is the most recent census information available.] and the principal city in County Limerick...
. Some contemporary accounts say that he was poisoned, but this is unsubstantiated. His widow, Frances, and daughter Charlotte remained in France, where Charlotte married her kinsman, William Talbot of Haggardstown, called 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell in the Jacobite peerage.
Tyrconnell's brother
PeterPeter Talbot, , was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin from 1669 to his death.Talbot was born at Malahide, County Dublin, Ireland in 1620. At an early age he entered the Society of Jesus in Portugal. He was ordained a priest at Rome, and for some years thereafter held the chair of theology...
was the Catholic
Archbishop of DublinArchbishop of Dublin is the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Church of Ireland has a similar role, heading the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. In both cases, the Archbishop is also Primate of Ireland...
from 1669 to 1680.