There are several women called Joan Boyle in the family of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, including his mother, first wife and fourth daughter.

Joan Boyle, Mother of the First Earl of Cork

Joan Boyle (October 15, 1529 - March 26, 1586) (referred to by her maiden name Joan Naylor) was the mother of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork.

She was born in Canterbury, Kent, England, the Daughter of John Naylor of Renville, Kent, England.

She married Roger Boyle of Faversham, Kent, England, when she was 35 and he was 41 (quite a late marriage and thus perhaps particularly notable for its productivity in terms of issue) on October 6, 1565 in Canterbury.

Her first child was (the eventual) Right Rev. John Boyle D.D. Oxford, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, born in about 1564 in Canterbury, Kent, England.

Note that the date of John Boyle's birth appears to possibly precede his mother's marriage, which, considering his title, would potentially be historically interesting.

Her second child was Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, born on October 13, 1566, when Joan was 36.

Her third child, Hugh Boyle was born in about 1568 in Canterbury, Kent, England

Her first daughter and fourth child, Elizabeth Boyle was born in about 1570 in Canterbury, Kent, England

Her second daughter and fifth child (Lady?) Mary Boyle was born in about 1572, when Joan was 43, in Canterbury, Kent, England

Joan died at the age of 56 and was buried in the upper end of the chancel of the Parish Church ofPreston near Faversham, Kent, England.

Joan Boyle, First wife of the First Earl of Cork

Joan Boyle (1578? - December 14, 1599) was the wife of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork.

She was originally Joan Apsley, the daughter of William Apsley, of Limerick, Ireland.

She was born in about 1578 in Limerick.

She married Richard Boyle in November 6, 1595, when she was 17 and he was 28, in Limerick.

This marriage brought her husband an estate of £500 a year, which he continued to receive until at least 1632.

She died during childbirth (with no issue) when she was 21 and Richard was 33 in Moyallow , Ireland and is buried in Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland.

Unlike many of his other close relatives whom he took great care to commemorate, Richard took no trouble to have his first wife commemorated after her death, leading to the conviction among some that his (in every sense) monumental commemorative endeavours were were entirely practical (in terms of securing his personal objectives) rather than sentimental (Joan's connections being of no direct use to him after her passing).

His strongest commemoration of Joan might be in the name he gave his fourth daughter (see above) but this may of course have been given in memory of his mother (also above).

Lady Joan Boyle, Daughter of the First Earl of Cork

Lady Joan Boyle (June 14, 1611 - March 11, 1656/ 7) was the fourth daughter and fifth child of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and his second wife Catherine Fenton.

She married George "The Fairy Earl" FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare on August 15, 1630.

She had three children:

• Wentworth FitzGerald, who succeeded his father as the 17th Earl of Kildare, was born in 1634, married: Lady Elizabeth Holles (2nd daughter of 2nd Earl of Clare) and died on the March 5, 1664.
• Robert Fitzgerald (for whom the only dates available seem to be his marriage) married Mary Clotworthy (daughter of James Clotworthy, of Monnimore, co. Londonderry, Ireland) on August 4, 1663.
• Elizabeth FitzGerald (for whom the only details available seem to be her two marriages and her death) married the 2nd Earl of Clancarty and subsequently married Sir William Davies and died in 1660.