James Fitz Edmond Cotter
Encyclopedia
Sir James Fitz Edmond Cotter was a soldier, a colonial governor and the commander-in-chief of King James's forces, in the Irish Counties of Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry. He was a prominent political figure in the south of Ireland and was of Royalist
and Jacobite
sympathies. He was also a member of the Irish Cotter family of Norse-Gaelic origins. He was born around 1630, the second son of Edmond Fitz Garrett Cotter of Anngrove and Elizabeth Connell of Barryscourt, was knighted in 1685–1686, and died in 1705.
cause in the Civil Wars
, and family tradition has him fighting for Charles II
at the Battle of Worcester
in 1651. Cotter was probably part of King Charles' military entourage when in exile and on his restoration to the throne in 1660 was a lieutenant in a foot (infantry) regiment. Exempted from the general pardon of persons who had taken arms against the monarchy in the recent wars were the "regicides" – those who had been instrumental in the trial and execution of Charles I
. A number of the regicides fled the country to escape trial and were declared traitors and outlaws. James Cotter founded his career in royal service by organising and carrying out the assassination of one of the regicides, John Lisle
, in Switzerland (at Lausanne, 14 September 1664). Another regicide, Edmund Ludlow
, was also targeted but escaped assassination. The Dictionary of National Biography, amongst other sources, states that Cotter carried out the killing under the pseudonym Thomas Macdonnell. However, in his biographical essay Ó Cuív dismisses this, stating that Cotter and his accomplices, Miles Crowley and John Rierdan (both Irish gentlemen fallen on hard times), were quite open about the incident. They were, indeed, carrying out a royal and judicial warrant and were acting entirely within English law. They were all rewarded by the English crown on their return and their rewards were officially recorded. Crowley fired the shot that killed Lisle, he was attacked in a churchyard, whilst Cotter and Rierdan fought off Lisle's guards.
Following this incident Cotter was made a captain, and in 1666 went to the West Indies commanding a company in a new-raised regiment of foot. In 1667 he commanded 700 men in an attack on the island of St Christopher
when he was captured by the French. In 1680 he was promoted to colonel and appointed Deputy-Governor of the island of Montserrat
; in 1681 he was made the island's Governor. With a royal pension and the profits from his West Indian governorship James Cotter became very wealthy and bought out the interests of most of his immediate family in his father's former lands, and considerably extended his holdings by new purchases in the Cork area.
It is likely that James Cotter was an intimate of James II
and may have served at sea with the king when the king was Duke of York, and an admiral, in the war against the Dutch of 1665. King James is reported to have familiarly referred to Cotter as "Shaymus Bwee," Séamus Buidhe in Irish. In June 1685 Cotter is recorded as a Lt. Colonel serving in Sir William Clifton's Regiment
of Foot. James Cotter is believed to have been knighted by King James in 1685 following the Battle of Sedgemoor
. The earliest official reference to Cotter as a knight occurs in 1686, which supports this timing; the records of the occasion of the dubbing
are no longer extant.
James II had converted to Roman Catholicism before he succeeded to the throne, the birth to him of a son and heir who would be raised a Catholic precipitated the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, and James fled England; where his Protestant daughter, Mary
, and her husband William III
came to power. In order to retrieve his fortunes King James landed in Ireland in March 1689 with French troops. At this time Sir James Cotter, a Catholic like his king, was made commander of the Jacobite
forces in Cork, and he was also returned as the first member of the Irish Parliament
for the city of Cork
. Cotter is said to have entertained King James at his house in Anngrove in 1689 and was reputedly promised an elevation to the peerage as a marquis. Cotter commanded "Clare's Dragoons
," described as one of the finest of the Jacobite cavalry regiments, and was involved in a skirmish at Lisnaskea, where his force was ambushed. On 11 February 1690 Cotter was appointed Governor of the City of Cork, and in April was empowered to collect taxes from the whole of County Cork. Following King James' defeat at the Battle of the Boyne
, at the start of the campaign of 1691, Sir James Cotter was made Brigadier General in command of all the Jacobite forces in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary. Cotter won two clashes with the Williamite forces but was ultimately defeated in the Battle of Bottlehill, at Ballymagooly near Mallow, on 29 April 1691. During the time of his military and civil authority Sir James Cotter treated the Protestant landowners well, not allowing his troops to despoil their property or for acts of reprisal to occur. He was rewarded for his moderation when, following the surrender of the Jacobite forces under the Treaty of Limerick
, the support of his Protestant neighbours allowed him to retain his property and lands in full, despite legal attempts to force his forfeiture.
In the last years of his life he was regarded as the natural leader of the Catholic community of Cork; he devoted time and resources to patronising Irish literature and protecting Roman Catholic clergy, including John Sleyne Bishop of Cork and Cloyne
, from the authorities. Following his death in 1705 he was buried in his family's burial vault at Carrigtwohill
, a vault he had built to hold his father's remains.
, with many poems about, or dedicated to, the Cotters by poets such as Dáibhí Ó Bruadair
, Uilliam Mac Cairteáin, Uilliam Ruadh Mac Coitir
(a fellow Cotter), Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill and Éamonn do Vál surviving. Domhnall Ó Colmáin included much biographical material concerning Sir James Cotter in his tract Párliament na mBan.
. His eldest son, James
, inherited his wealth and patronage of the Catholic population of Cork, but not his moderation or astute political instinct and ended his life on the gallows. His other children were: Laurence, Mary, Alice and Monica. He is the patrilinear ancestor of the Cotter Baronets of Rockforest in County Cork.
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
and Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
sympathies. He was also a member of the Irish Cotter family of Norse-Gaelic origins. He was born around 1630, the second son of Edmond Fitz Garrett Cotter of Anngrove and Elizabeth Connell of Barryscourt, was knighted in 1685–1686, and died in 1705.
Career
James Cotter attached himself to the RoyalistCavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
cause in the Civil Wars
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and family tradition has him fighting for Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms 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...
at the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
in 1651. Cotter was probably part of King Charles' military entourage when in exile and on his restoration to the throne in 1660 was a lieutenant in a foot (infantry) regiment. Exempted from the general pardon of persons who had taken arms against the monarchy in the recent wars were the "regicides" – those who had been instrumental in the trial and execution of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. A number of the regicides fled the country to escape trial and were declared traitors and outlaws. James Cotter founded his career in royal service by organising and carrying out the assassination of one of the regicides, John Lisle
John Lisle
Sir John Lisle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War and was one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England...
, in Switzerland (at Lausanne, 14 September 1664). Another regicide, Edmund Ludlow
Edmund Ludlow
Edmund Ludlow was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his Memoirs, which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source for historians of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After service in the English...
, was also targeted but escaped assassination. The Dictionary of National Biography, amongst other sources, states that Cotter carried out the killing under the pseudonym Thomas Macdonnell. However, in his biographical essay Ó Cuív dismisses this, stating that Cotter and his accomplices, Miles Crowley and John Rierdan (both Irish gentlemen fallen on hard times), were quite open about the incident. They were, indeed, carrying out a royal and judicial warrant and were acting entirely within English law. They were all rewarded by the English crown on their return and their rewards were officially recorded. Crowley fired the shot that killed Lisle, he was attacked in a churchyard, whilst Cotter and Rierdan fought off Lisle's guards.
Following this incident Cotter was made a captain, and in 1666 went to the West Indies commanding a company in a new-raised regiment of foot. In 1667 he commanded 700 men in an attack on the island of St Christopher
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
when he was captured by the French. In 1680 he was promoted to colonel and appointed Deputy-Governor of the island of Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
; in 1681 he was made the island's Governor. With a royal pension and the profits from his West Indian governorship James Cotter became very wealthy and bought out the interests of most of his immediate family in his father's former lands, and considerably extended his holdings by new purchases in the Cork area.
It is likely that James Cotter was an intimate of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and may have served at sea with the king when the king was Duke of York, and an admiral, in the war against the Dutch of 1665. King James is reported to have familiarly referred to Cotter as "Shaymus Bwee," Séamus Buidhe in Irish. In June 1685 Cotter is recorded as a Lt. Colonel serving in Sir William Clifton's Regiment
East Yorkshire Regiment
The East Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment , becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of...
of Foot. James Cotter is believed to have been knighted by King James in 1685 following the Battle of Sedgemoor
Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on 6 July 1685 and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England.It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south west England between the forces of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and the...
. The earliest official reference to Cotter as a knight occurs in 1686, which supports this timing; the records of the occasion of the dubbing
Accolade
In the Middle Ages, the accolade was the central act in the rite-of-passage ceremonies conferring knighthood.-Ceremony:...
are no longer extant.
James II had converted to Roman Catholicism before he succeeded to the throne, the birth to him of a son and heir who would be raised a Catholic precipitated the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, and James fled England; where his Protestant daughter, Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
, and her husband William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
came to power. In order to retrieve his fortunes King James landed in Ireland in March 1689 with French troops. At this time Sir James Cotter, a Catholic like his king, was made commander of the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
forces in Cork, and he was also returned as the first member of the Irish Parliament
Patriot Parliament
The Patriot Parliament is the name given to the session of the Irish Parliament called by King James II of Ireland during the War of the Two Kings in 1689. The parliament met in one session, from 7 May 1689 to 20 July 1689, and was the only session of the Irish Parliament under King James II.The...
for the city of Cork
Cork City (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Cork City was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-Boundaries and boundary changes:...
. Cotter is said to have entertained King James at his house in Anngrove in 1689 and was reputedly promised an elevation to the peerage as a marquis. Cotter commanded "Clare's Dragoons
Clare's Dragoons
The Clare's Regiment, later known as Clare's Dragoons, was initially named O'Brien's Regiment after its originator Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare...
," described as one of the finest of the Jacobite cavalry regiments, and was involved in a skirmish at Lisnaskea, where his force was ambushed. On 11 February 1690 Cotter was appointed Governor of the City of Cork, and in April was empowered to collect taxes from the whole of County Cork. Following King James' defeat at the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
, at the start of the campaign of 1691, Sir James Cotter was made Brigadier General in command of all the Jacobite forces in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary. Cotter won two clashes with the Williamite forces but was ultimately defeated in the Battle of Bottlehill, at Ballymagooly near Mallow, on 29 April 1691. During the time of his military and civil authority Sir James Cotter treated the Protestant landowners well, not allowing his troops to despoil their property or for acts of reprisal to occur. He was rewarded for his moderation when, following the surrender of the Jacobite forces under the Treaty of Limerick
Treaty of Limerick
The Treaty of Limerick ended the Williamite war in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange. It concluded the Siege of Limerick. The treaty really consisted of two treaties which were signed on 3 October 1691. Reputedly they were signed on the Treaty Stone, an...
, the support of his Protestant neighbours allowed him to retain his property and lands in full, despite legal attempts to force his forfeiture.
In the last years of his life he was regarded as the natural leader of the Catholic community of Cork; he devoted time and resources to patronising Irish literature and protecting Roman Catholic clergy, including John Sleyne Bishop of Cork and Cloyne
Bishop of Cork and Cloyne
The Bishop of Cork and Cloyne was an episcopal title which took its name after the city of Cork and the town of Cloyne in southern Ireland.-History:The see was formed by the union of the bishoprics of Cork and Cloyne in 1429...
, from the authorities. Following his death in 1705 he was buried in his family's burial vault at Carrigtwohill
Carrigtwohill
Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill , is a village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland with a population of 4,869 . It is located east of Cork city, bypassed by the N25 road and is part of Metropolitan Cork. Carrigtwohill is one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. It is a major...
, a vault he had built to hold his father's remains.
Cultural significance
Sir James Cotter was, in the style of previous generations of Irish chieftains, a great patron of poetry and other writings in the Irish languageIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, with many poems about, or dedicated to, the Cotters by poets such as Dáibhí Ó Bruadair
Dáibhí Ó Bruadair
Dáibhí Ó Bruadair was one of the most significant Irish language poets of the 17th century. He lived through a momentous time in Irish history and his work serves as testimony to the death of the old Irish cultural and political order and the decline in respect for the once honoured and feared...
, Uilliam Mac Cairteáin, Uilliam Ruadh Mac Coitir
Liam Rua Mac Coitir
Liam Rua Mac Coitir, Irish poet, 1675/90?–1738.A Jacobite poet, Mac Coitir was the president of Daimh-scola na mBlarnan, at Blarney.-See also:* Cotter family* Diarmuid mac Sheáin Bhuí Mac Cárthaigh* Dónall na Buile Mac Cárthaigh, fl...
(a fellow Cotter), Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill and Éamonn do Vál surviving. Domhnall Ó Colmáin included much biographical material concerning Sir James Cotter in his tract Párliament na mBan.
Family
Sir James Cotter married twice. His first marriage, to Mary daughter of Sir William Stapleton, was without issue; his second wife was Ellen Plunkett daughter of Matthew, 7th Lord LouthBaron Louth
Baron Louth is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1541 for Sir Oliver Plunkett. His great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Baron, served as Lord Lieutenant of County Louth. However, he later supported King James II and was outlawed. His great-great-grandson, the eleventh Baron,...
. His eldest son, James
James Cotter (of Anngrove)
James Cotter the Younger , or James Cotter of Anngrove, was the son of Sir James Fitz Edmond Cotter who had commanded King James's forces in the Counties of Cork, Limerick, and Kerry. His mother was Eleanor/Ellen Plunkett, daughter of Matthew, 7th Lord Louth, and he was a member of the Irish...
, inherited his wealth and patronage of the Catholic population of Cork, but not his moderation or astute political instinct and ended his life on the gallows. His other children were: Laurence, Mary, Alice and Monica. He is the patrilinear ancestor of the Cotter Baronets of Rockforest in County Cork.
Works cited
- Ó Cuív, B. (1959) James Cotter, a Seventeenth-Century Agent of the Crown. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 89, No. 2 (1959), pp. 135–159.
- Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, (1937). Published by The Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.