The history and archaeology of the Irish colonial landscapes of Richard Boyle, 1^st earl of Cork, c.1595-1643

This paper outlines the results of a inter-disciplinary project on the Irish estates of Richard Boyle, the 1st earl of Cork. Conducted over three years, by historians and archaeologists at University College Cork, Ireland, and sponsored by the Irish Research Council, this new study mapped and analysed the colonial landscapes created by Boyle (father of Roger Boyle the famous chemist) in the Irish province of Munster. This research completely re-evaluates the way in which colonial entrepreneurs such as Boyle developed their Irish lands. The earl of Cork had no interest in short-term financial gain and, in point of fact, sought the long-term dynastic succession of his family in southern Ireland. At the same time, he masterfully portrayed himself to his contemporaries as model agent of the English colonial project in Ireland.