TYRCONNEL, RICHARD TALBOT, Duke and Earl of, b. early in the 17th century. In his youth, according to lord Macaulay, he was "one of the most noted sharpers and bul lies of London." Soon after the restoration, he endeavored to obtain the favor of the royal family by blackening the reputation of Anne Hyde, so as to furnish the duke of York 1\.ith a pretext for breaking his promise of marriage to her. Though unsuccessful in this, he succeeded in gaining the favor of the duke, and contrived to make himself welcome at the palace both as a votary of its pleasures and as a counselor in affairs of state. Immediately on the accession of James II., he was made earl of Tyrconnel and put in command of the troops in Ireland; and in 1687, by fawning, bullying, and bribing, he got possession of the office which had long been the object of his ambition—he was appointed lord-deputy of Ireland. His arrival in that country spread terror and dismay through the English Protestant population, who had already suffered somewhat under his military rule. Events quickly justified their terrors. Nearly every office of dignity in the country was soon transferred to the hands of the Roman Catholics. The Protestant. party, so long dominant, complained bitterly that they had become a laughing-stock even to their own servants, and that to appeal to law was vain; judgment in every case being given for the native against the Englishman. But this state of matters did not last long. The revolution of 1688 had a sudden and sobering effect upon the rule of the lord deputy; and there can be little doubt that he would have submitted to William III.;, but the Irish people threatened that if he dared to sell them for wealth or honor, they would burn the castle and him in it, and put themselves under the protection of France. On the arrival of James in Ireland in 1689, he created the earl, duke of Tyrconnel. After the fatal battle of the Boyne, at which he held high command, he retired to France. In 1691 he returned to Ireland, with a view to f urthering the efforts in favor of James, which were still being made by Lis adherents. Notwithstanding the defeat of Aghrim (July 12, 1691), and the capitulation of Galway, he made preparations for the defense of Lhn crick, binding himself and his countrymen by an oath not to surrender until they received permission from James, then at Saint Germain. He at the same time dispatched a letter in which he stated his conviction that all was lost. On Aug. 11, before an answer could
arrive, he was struck with apoplexy. He died ou the 14th of the same month. He has been characterized by Macaulay as "the fiercest and most uncompromising of all those who hated the religion and liberties of England." He was survived until 1730 by his wife—" la belle Jennings," of the court of Charles II. This lady, so famed for her beauty and fascinating manner, entered life as maid of honor to the duchess of York; in which position she conducted herself with a propriety which, time and place considered, may almost be pronounced unique. As wife of the duke of Tyrconnel, during his rule in Dublin, her conduct seems to have b?.es characterized both by dignity and purity. It is narrated that when James and her l :...bard, fleeing from the defeat of the Boyne, reached ncr residence so bespattered with mud as to be scarcely recognizable, she dressed herself richly, and received the fugitive king and his attendants with all the splendor of court etiquette. She died in a small private nunnery in Dublin in circumstances of great pov erty. See Macaulay's llistory of England, vols. ii., iii., and iv.; Chambers's Book of Days, vol. i., ed. 1863, p. 310; Mrs. Jameson's of Beauties of the Court of Charles II, vol. ii., p. 223.
TYRE (Phen. Stir or Sor, rock), a city of ancient Phenicia, situated in lat. 33° 12' n., which probably derived its name from the double rock on which it was first founded. It was a matter of doubt among the ancients themselves whether Tyre or Sidon was the older of the two, and the question is not easily to be settled. So much, however, seems certain, that Tyre had existed already independently for a long time, when Sidon, defeated by Ascalon, transferred herself almost bodily to the former (see PHENICIA). There were two towns of Trye elosely_conneeted together in historical times; one on the continent, the other on the island opposite, together embracing about 19 Roman miles. The more important of the two was the continental town, called Palle Tyrus; while the island-town served more or less for the purpose of store-houses, manufactories, arsenals, and the like. The situation of the entire city was one of the most fertile, and its magnificent combination of land and sea scenery formed the theme of many an ancient poet and seer.