Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon

The Viscount Shannon
Unfinished portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller (circa 1710)
Born1675
Westminster, England
Died20 December 1740 (aged 65)
Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames
Buried
St Mary's Parish Church, Walton-on-Thames
Allegiance Kingdom of England
 Kingdom of Great Britain
Service / branch English Army
 British Army
Years of service1690–1740
RankField Marshal
CommandsCommander-in-Chief, Ireland
Battles / warsWilliamite War in Ireland
Nine Years' War
War of the Spanish Succession

Field Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, PC (1675 – 20 December 1740) was a British Army officer and statesman. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of the Boyne during the Williamite War in Ireland and at the Battle of Landen during the Nine Years' War, he commanded a brigade of grenadiers during the storming of Vigo during the War of the Spanish Succession. During this engagement the entire French fleet, under the command of the Marquis de Château-Renault, together with the Spanish galleons and transports under Manuel de Velasco, were either captured or destroyed. He also took part in a successful raid on Barcelona three years later. He went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Irish Army throughout the 1720s and 1730s.