Boyle Roche

Sir
Boyle Roche
Bt
Member, Irish House of Commons
In office
1775–1801
Preceded byJames Agar
ConstituencyTralee
Gowran
Portarlington
Old Leighlin
Personal details
BornOctober 1736
County Galway
Died(1807-06-05)5 June 1807
Dublin
SpouseMary Frankland
ResidenceDublin

Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736[1] – 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?"[2]). Roche may have been Richard Brinsley Sheridan's model for Mrs Malaprop.[3] 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.

  1. ^ Johnston-Liik, E. M. (2002). History of the Irish Parliament, 1692–1800., as cited in H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, ed. (2004). "Roche, Sir Boyle". The Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861411-X. Some sources, including earlier versions of the Dictionary of National Biography, give the date as 1743. However, since the later date would make Roche rather young to have served with such distinction – he would have been 15 at the Battle on Snowshoes (and already a lieutenant!), 16 at the Siege of Quebec and 19 at the capture of El Morro – the earlier date seems more reasonable.
  2. ^ Geoghegan, Patrick M. (1999). "The union passes". The Irish Act of Union. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 110.
  3. ^ Maye, Bryan (14 February 2000). "An Irishman's Diary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 June 2019.