James Cotter the Younger facts for kids
James Cotter the Younger (Irish: Séamus Óg Mac Coitir; born August 4, 1689 – died May 7, 1720) was also known as James Cotter of Anngrove. He was the son of Sir James Fitz Edmond Cotter, who led King James's Irish Army in Cork, Limerick, and Kerry. His mother was Eleanor/Ellen Plunkett. James Cotter was part of the Irish Cotter family, which had Norse-Gaelic origins.
He was an important person in the 1713 Dublin election riot. He was executed in Cork City on May 7, 1720. Many people, especially Catholics in Ireland, saw his death as a political killing.
His Life and Times
James Cotter was seen as a natural leader for Catholics in Cork, just like his father. He also supported Irish language poetry and other writings. For example, the Irish book Párliament na mBan (which means 'The Parliament of Women') was dedicated to a young James Cotter in 1697.
As one of the few major Catholic landowners left in Ireland, James Cotter was not trusted by the government. He supported Jacobitism (people who wanted King James II's family to rule again) and was a Tory (a political group). His Protestant neighbors, who were part of the Protestant Ascendancy (the ruling Protestant class) and had Whiggish political views, also suspected him.
James Cotter is believed to have played a big part in starting the election riots in Dublin in 1713. His trial was very famous at the time. Many people believed it was unfair and called it a "judicial murder."
James Cotter was executed in Cork City on May 7, 1720. News of his death caused many riots across the country. He was buried in his family's tomb in Carrigtwohill.
Some people thought James Cotter's death was linked to an old family disagreement. His father had been involved in the death of John Lisle in Switzerland in 1664. The wife of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (a high-ranking official) at the time of James Cotter's trial was John Lisle's granddaughter.
About twenty poems in Irish (Gaelic) still exist that show how sad people were about James Cotter's execution. Some of these were written by Éadbhard de Nógla, whose father was a close friend of Cotter.
A Cork newspaper in 1720 wrote this tribute to James Cotter: "Just, Prudent, Pious, everything that’s Great Lodg’d in his breast, and formed the Man complete, His Body may consume, his Virtues shall Recorded be, till the World’s Funeral."
His Family
James Cotter married Margaret Mathew of Thurles. Their oldest son was Sir James Cotter, 1st Baronet Cotter of Rockforest, who was a Member of Parliament for Askeaton. Their other children were Edmond, Ellen, and Elizabeth.
The authorities stepped in and decided how James's children would be educated. They were raised as Protestants. This action changed another important family that had been leaders in the Catholic community in Ireland.
See also
