# David Roche, 7th Viscount Fermoy

David Roche, 7th Viscount Fermoy (1573–1635) was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician.

## Birth and origins

David was born about 1573, probably in Castletownroche, County Cork, Ireland. He was the only surviving son of Maurice Roche and his first wife, Eleanor FitzGerald. His father was the 6th Viscount Fermoy (also counted as the 1st). His father's family, the Roches were Old English and descended from Adam de Rupe who had come to Ireland from Wales with Robert FitzStephen.
His mother was a daughter of Sir Maurice fitz John FitzGerald of Totane, younger brother of James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond and third son of the de facto 12th Earl of Desmond. She also was a sister of James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, the "archtraitor", who led the first Desmond Rebellion. Her family were the FitzGeralds of Desmond, a cadet branch of the Old English Geraldines, whose senior branch were the FitzGeralds of Kildare.
Family tree :
| | | | | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 | John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 |
| James 13th Earl d. 1558 | James 13th Earl d. 1558 | James 13th Earl d. 1558 | James 13th Earl d. 1558 | James 13th Earl d. 1558 | James 13th Earl d. 1558 | | | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane | Maurice FitzJohn of Totane |
| Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | David 5th Viscount Fermoy d. 1582 | Ellen Butler | Ellen Butler | Ellen Butler | Ellen Butler | Ellen Butler | Ellen Butler |
| | | | | James FitzMaurice d. 1579 Archtraitor | James FitzMaurice d. 1579 Archtraitor | | | Eleanor FitzGerald | Eleanor FitzGerald | | | Maurice 6th Viscount Fermoy d. 1600 | Maurice 6th Viscount Fermoy d. 1600 | | | Catherine FitzGerald | Catherine FitzGerald |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | David 7th Viscount Fermoy 1573–1635 | | | Joan Barry | Joan Barry | Joan Barry | Joan Barry | Joan Barry | Joan Barry | | | | | | |
| Maurice 8th Viscount Fermoy 1597–1670 | Maurice 8th Viscount Fermoy 1597–1670 | | | Ellen Power | Ellen Power | | | Donal MacCarty Reagh d. 1636 | Donal MacCarty Reagh d. 1636 | | | Ellen Roche | Ellen Roche | | | Charles 1st Viscount Muskerry 1564–1641 | Charles 1st Viscount Muskerry 1564–1641 |
| | | | | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | David 9th Viscount Fermoy d. 1703 Naval officer | | | | | | | | | | | Charles Kilbrittain | Charles Kilbrittain | Charles Kilbrittain | Charles Kilbrittain | Charles Kilbrittain | Charles Kilbrittain | | | Eleanor MacCarthy | Eleanor MacCarthy | Eleanor MacCarthy | Eleanor MacCarthy | Eleanor MacCarthy | Eleanor MacCarthy |
| XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | Subject of the article | Subject of the article | Subject of the article | Subject of the article | Subject of the article | Subject of the article | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | Viscounts Fermoy | Viscounts Fermoy | Viscounts Fermoy | Viscounts Fermoy | Viscounts Fermoy | Viscounts Fermoy | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | XXX | Earls of Desmond | Earls of Desmond | Earls of Desmond | Earls of Desmond | Earls of Desmond | Earls of Desmond |
* David listed among his brothers
* He was the eldest of three brothers:
* David (1573–1635)
* Theobald, married Grany daughter of Sir Owen MacCarthy
* John, of whom only the name is known
* David's sisters
* Ellen, also called Joan, married Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond.
* Amy, married Dermot MacCarthy of Duhallow

## Early life and Desmond Rebellions

Despite these family relations, his father and grandfather fought against the insurgents in the Desmond Rebellions during which two of his paternal uncles were killed. His father succeeded his grandfather as the 6th Viscount Fermoy in 1581 or 1582. David was about ten in 1583 when the Desmond Rebellions ended with the killing of Gerald FitzGerald, the rebel earl.
His mother was still alive in 1590, but she predeceased his father, who remarried to Catherine FitzGerald, third daughter of the rebel earl by his second wife, Eleanor Butler.

## Marriage and children

Before 1593 Roche married Joan, daughter of James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant, by his wife Ellen MacCarthy Reagh. His wife's family, the de Barrys, were Old English like his own and descended from Philip de Barry, who had come to Ireland from Wales in 1183.
David and Joan had five sons:
* Maurice (1593–1670), who succeeded as the 8th Viscount Fermoy
* John, deaf and dumb, died unmarried
* Theobald, married Julia, daughter of Dominick Sarsfield, 1st Viscount Sarsfield, but had no issue
* Ulick, married Gyles (Cecilia) daughter of John O'Conor Kerry, of Carrigfoyll, County Kerry
* Redmond, accompanied St. Leger to Waterford in 1641 to submit the insurgents.
—and four daughters:
* Ellen, who married first Donal MacCarthy Reagh of Kilbrittain, secondly Charles MacCarthy, 1st Viscount Muskerry, and thirdly Thomas Fitzmaurice, 4th son of Thomas Fitzmaurice, 18th Baron Kerry.
* Elinor
* Joan
* Amy, married John Everard of Fethard, County Tipperary, as his second wife.

## 7th Viscount

Roche succeeded his father as the 7th Viscount Fermoy on 24 October 1600. He is also counted as 2nd Viscount.

## Proclamation of James I

Queen Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603. Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, her Lord Deputy of Ireland, proclaimed James VI and I as King. Several Irish towns, dominated by Old English families delayed the proclamation still hoping for a Catholic succession. This was the case of Cork. On 11 April Mountjoy sent Captain Morgan to Cork to proclaim James. Thornton and Fermoy, as he now was, proclaimed James I as King on 13 April 1603, outside the walls in the northern suburbs when the mayor, Thomas Sarsfield, hesitated to do so.

## House of Lords

Fermoy sat in the House of Lords of the Irish Parliament 1613–1615, the only Irish Parliament of James I. He coordinated the opposition to the electoral abuses of James I, together with Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston
The Irish Parliament of 1634–1635 was opened on 14 July 1634 by the new Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Wentworth (later to become Lord Strafford), who had taken up office in July 1633. Lord Fermoy, an old man, sat by proxy in the House of Lords of the Parliament 1634–1635.

## Death and timeline

Fermoy died on 22 March 1635 at Castlerochetown and was buried at Bridgetown Abbey. He was succeeded by his son Maurice as the 8th Viscount (also counted as the 3rd).
Timeline :
| As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages. |||
| Age | Date | Event |
| 0 | 1573, about | Born |
| 7–8 | 1581 or 1582 | His father succeeded his grandfather as the 6th Viscount Fermoy. |
| 9–10 | 1583, 11 Nov | His stepmother's father, the 14th Earl of Desmond killed at the end of the 2nd Desmond Rebellion. |
| 16–17 | 1590, 27 May | His mother was still alive but predeceased his father. |
| 19–20 | 1593 | Eldest son, Maurice, born |
| 26–27 | 1600, 24 Oct | Succeeded as 7th Viscount Fermoy |
| 27–28 | 1601, 22 Sep | The Spanish landed at Kinsale |
| 29–30 | 1603, 24 Mar | Accession of King James I, succeeding Queen Elizabeth I |
| 39–40 | 1613, Mar | Took his seat in the Parliament of Ireland |
| 51–52 | 1625, 27 Mar | Accession of King Charles I, succeeding King James I |
| 60–61 | 1634, 26 July | Took his seat by proxy in the Parliament of Ireland 1634–1635 |
| 61–62 | 1635, 22 Mar | Died at Castletownroche |