Courtier, Poet and Adventurer

Walter Raleigh was one of the most dynamic and colourful characters of the Elizabethan period. He was born in Devon 1552 and soon displayed a love for fighting and adventure. He took part in campaigns in France and Ireland and organised expeditions to America. By the 1580s Raleigh was a favourite at the court of Queen Elizabeth and was knighted in 1584.

Raleigh had taken part in the suppression of the Desmond rebellion in Ireland in 1579 and benefited from the subsequent distribution of confiscated land. The lands were granted to various English colonists to establish loyal settlers in war-torn Munster. By this means, the authorities hoped to prevent the reoccurrence of rebellion and to develop the resources of the area. Raleigh had previously been involved with attempts to establish English colonies in North America, with little success.

Raleigh's extensive property of over 42,000 acres included the important towns of Youghal and Lismore. He became one of the principal landholders in Munster, but had only limited success in inducing English tenants to settle on his estates.

Youghal was the home of Walter Raleigh for short periods during the seventeen years in which he held land in Ireland. He is said to have lived at Myrtle Grove, a fine house beside St Mary's Collegiate Church. Myrtle Grove is a rare example of a 16th century house which has survived largely intact; protected in part by the nearby town walls. Although the house was altered in the 18th and 19th centuries, it retains its original character and contains some interior features, which probably date back to the 1580s.

The garden at Myrtle Grove is the setting for various traditional stories associated with Raleigh and the newly discovered crops of potatoes and tobacco. Raleigh is said to have planted the first potatoes in Ireland at Youghal, thus introducing a nutritious food, which was to have a major impact on Irelands future. Another incident recalls how Raleigh was smoking in the garden and his servant, never having seen tobacco before, threw water over Raleigh fearing that he had been set alight.

Raleigh was Mayor of Youghal in 1588 and 1589, although most of his duties were probably carried out by his deputy, William Magner. Amongst Raleigh's, acquaintances in the area was the poet Edmund Spenser who, like Raleigh, had been granted land in Munster. Spenser, author of The Fairy Queen, lived at Kilcolman Castle near Doneraile (in north Cork) and it is likely that he was entertained by Raleigh at Youghal.

The 1590s brought difficulties on Raleigh's Irish plantations at a time when his own fortunes were in decline. He sold his Irish estates in 1602, thus ending his involvement with the Munster plantation. Raleigh subsequently spent 13 years in prison on charges of treason before undertaking his ill-fated expedition to Guinea. He was executed on his return to England in 1618. Walter Raleigh's estates in Ireland were purchased by Richard Boyle, one of the most successful men of his period.