# Toby Bourke (Jacobite)

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Irish Jacobite courtier, agent and diplomat

**Theobald Bourke** (1675–12 May 1742), also known as **Toby Bourke** and **Tobias du Bourk**, was an Irish [Jacobite](/source/Jacobitism) courtier, agent and diplomat.[1]

## Biography

Bourke was born at Shanid, [County Limerick](/source/County_Limerick), the son of Richard Bourke and his wife Silena O'Brien.[1] He was from a [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) family and in 1688 he was sent to be educated at the [Irish College in Bordeaux](/source/Irish_College_in_Bordeaux). After the conclusion of the [Williamite War in Ireland](/source/Williamite_War_in_Ireland), Bourke travelled to the exiled Stuart court at [Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye](/source/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Saint-Germain-en-Laye). He enlisted in the [Irish Brigade](/source/Irish_Brigade_(France)) and fought in the [Nine Years' War](/source/Nine_Years'_War), before securing employment in the household of [Cardinal de Bouillon](/source/Cardinal_de_Bouillon), the French ambassador to Rome.[1]

In 1702 he was knighted and made a [baronet](/source/Baronet) by the Old Pretender, [James Francis Edward Stuart](/source/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart), who appointed him as a gentleman of the privy chamber in January 1704.[1] In 1705, the Jacobite Queen Regent, [Mary of Modena](/source/Mary_of_Modena), appointed Bourke as the Jacobite ambassador to [Philip V of Spain](/source/Philip_V_of_Spain).[2] In Madrid he became the leading agent of Jacobite activity in Spain, assisting in the affairs of Irish emigres and exiles, such as [James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde](/source/James_Butler%2C_2nd_Duke_of_Ormonde), and facilitating the entry of men into the [Regiment of Hibernia](/source/Regiment_of_Hibernia). In 1705 he also became an informant for the French diplomat, the [Marquess of Torcy](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Colbert%2C_Marquess_of_Torcy), to whom Bourke sent detailed written reports twice a year in return for an annual subsidy of 6,000 francs from Louis XIV.[1][3]

The [Peace of Utrecht](/source/Peace_of_Utrecht) in 1713 saw relations deteriorate between the Jacobite and Spanish courts, but Bourke continued to reside in Spain. In 1715, the Spanish diplomat [Giulio Alberoni](/source/Giulio_Alberoni) commissioned Bourke to conduct an embassy to [Charles XII of Sweden](/source/Charles_XII_of_Sweden), but the mission was later abandoned.[1] The Spanish refused to reimburse Bourke for the task, despite the capture of his wife and children by the British admiral [George Byng](/source/George_Byng%2C_1st_Viscount_Torrington) while they were sailing to Sweden. He subsequently joined the exiled Stuart court in Rome and in February 1727, Bourke was raised to the [Jacobite peerage](/source/Jacobite_peerage) as Baron Bourke.[4] He had returned to Spain by 1739 and died in that country in 1742.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Ó_Ciardha_1-6) Ó Ciardha, Éamonn (2009). ["Bourke, Toby ('Don Tobias')"](https://www.dib.ie/biography/bourke-toby-don-tobias-a0808). *dib.ie*. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 28 August 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Marquis MacSwiney, ['Two Distinguished Irishmen in the Spanish Service: Sir Toby Bourke and Dr. John Higgins'](https://www.jstor.org/stable/30097681), *Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review*, Vol 28, No 109 (March 1939), p.63

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Eveline Cruickshanks, 'Toby Bourke, Ambassador of James III at the Court of Philip V, 1705-1713', [*The Stuart Court in Exile and the Jacobites*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FW6vAwAAQBAJ) (A&C Black, 1 Jul 1995), p.149

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Marquis of Ruvigny, [*The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Grants of Honour*](https://books.google.com/books?id=WrUEAAAAIAAJ) (T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1904), p.18-19.

Peerage of Ireland New creation — TITULAR — Baron Bourke Jacobite peerage 1727–1742 Unknown

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