James Vincent Coyle C.B.E., B.L. was a senior Civil Servant who served as Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Northern Ireland between 1921 – 1930.

Early life Coyle was born at 7 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin on 15 December 1864, the eldest son of Charles Coyle (Secretary of the Catholic Cemeteries Committee) and Anna Maria Duggan. He was the older brother of Joseph Alfred Terence Coyle (known as Alfred Bernard Coyle), who founded Coyle & Co. insurance brokers in 1903 (later Coyle Hamilton - now part of the Willis group).

Education Coyle – like his two brothers - was educated by the Jesuits at Belvedere College, Dublin, before studying law at Trinity College Dublin. In the University Calendar for 1889, he was listed as having passed general examinations in 1888 in Civil Law, Feudal and English Law, and International Law; and in the University Calendar for 1897, he was listed as having passed examinations in 1896 in Civil Law, and Constitutional and Criminal Law, and was listed as one of the prizemen in Civil Law in those exams.Research Collections, Trinity College Dublin

Coyle was called to the Irish Bar (King's Inns, Dublin) in 1896.King's Inns Dublin archives

Civil Service

Collector-General’s Office In 1884, Coyle entered the Collector-General of Rates Office, Dublin, as a Junior Clerk, having come first in the examination for Junior Clerks held on 25 August 1884. He was First Class Clerk therein between 1892 – 1900. The Collector General’s Office was closed on 30 December 1899, having been abolished under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.

Department of Agriculture On 5 October 1900, Coyle was appointed to the staff of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, where he continued to serve until 1921. During that period, he held the following senior positions:

1914-1921:

Principal Staff Officer and Deputy Chief Clerk.

1919-1921:

Chairman Agricultural Wages Board, Ireland.

Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Ireland Between 1921 and 1930, Coyle served as Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Ireland.

In 1926, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.London Gazette, 3 July 1926

Other appointments Coyle was one of the founding members of the Belvedere Union in 1906 and served as President, 1931 -1932.Belvedere Union Past Presidents

He also served as Chairman of the Committee of Management, Peabody Sanatorium, County Dublin, 1934 - 1943.Thom's Irish Who's Who

Family In 1889, Coyle marred Grettie Mary O'Sullivan, daughter of J. O’Sullivan of Drumcondra, Dublin and had 7 sons:

Charles John Reginald Coyle (1891-1973)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; and University College Dublin.

Insurance underwriter in Canada.

Gerald Coyle (1893-1894)

Dr. Cecil Dermot Coyle (1894-1993)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; and University College Dublin (MB, BCh, BAO).

Medical Superintendent, the Whittington Hospital, London (after whom the Coyle ward is named).British Medical Journal obituary, Volume 307, 21 August 1993

President of the Hunterian Society.Presidents of the Hunterian Society

Fr. Rupert Francis Austin Coyle SJ (1896-1978)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; and University College Dublin.

Prefect of Studies, Belvedere College, Dublin.Jesuit archives, Ireland

Vincent Ignatius Roderick Coyle (1900-1943)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare; and University College Dublin.

Industrial Chemist (Managing Director, United Potash Syndicate in Berlin).BBC WW2 People's War: Article A3954251

Eoin Cyril Gerard Donal O'Sullivan Coyle (1905-1987)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare; and Trinity College Dublin.

Insurance broker.

Fr. Desmond Alfred James Coyle SJ (1912- 1962)

Education: Belvedere College, Dublin; Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare; and University College Dublin (BA).

Professor of Dogmatic Philosophy, Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin.Jesuit Archives, Ireland

Coyle died on 5 July 1948 and was buried in the Coyle family plot in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Coyle’s remoter descendants include:

Dr. Charles Frederick Vincent Coyle, MD MAO (UCD) British Medical Journal obituary 14 December 1963 (page 1537) Dr. Nuala Mary Brigid Mitzi Macey-Dare (née Coyle) LDS BDS (RCS England) BSc LLB MBA (OU), DDPH (KCL), Diploma in Forensic Odontology Dr. Nessa Mary Coyle RN, PhD, FAAN Dr. Orla Mary Burke (née Coyle) MB, BCh, BAO Dr. Yolanda Daza PhD (USF) Dr. Rupert Graham Macey-Dare MA Dip Computer Science (Cantab), MScEcon Dip Economics (LSE), DPhil MA (Oxon), Dip Legal Practice LLM (City St. George's) Dr. Lucy Virginia Macey-Dare BDS (Lond), FDS FDS (Orth) MOrth (RCS England), MSc (Lond) Dr. Anežka Devorguilla Beatrix Macey-Dare MBBC BSc AICSM (Imperial), DPhil (Oxon), Diploma in Genetics (Cantab), Diploma in History of Medicine (Worshipful Society of Apothecaries) Thomas Charles Macey-Dare KC, MA LLM (Cantab), LLM (Cornell)Who's Who 2026

Societies

Royal Dublin Society Zoological Society of Ireland Royal Ulster Agricultural Society, Belfast

Arms

By Letters Patent dated 15 September 1935, Sir Nevile Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms (acting through his Deputy, Thomas Sadleir) confirmed arms on Coyle and his descendants, and on the other descendants of his father Charles Coyle, on the basis of long user.Ireland, Genealogical Office, Grants and Confirmations of Arms, volume N, 1929 - 1935, pages 149 - 150

Escutcheon:

Or six barrulets azure

Crest:

A hind’s head erased proper

Motto:

Exspecta Dominum Viriliter Age (wait for your master act like a man)

References