The only son of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, he was born at Westminster and attended Christ Church, Oxford. He published a translation of the letters of Pliny the Younger in 1751, and Remarks on the Life and Writings of Jonathan Swift in the same year, and the Memoirs of Robert Carey, Earl of Monmouth. His Letters from Italy was published in 1774 by J. Duncombe.
He was was married twice, and succeeded as Earl of Cork by his son Hamilton, who died in 1764 and passed the earldom to John's next son, Edmund.
{| border="2" align="center"
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|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Richard Boyle
|width="40%" align="center"|Earl of Cork
|width="30%" align="center" rowspan="2"|Followed by:
Hamilton Boyle
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|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Charles Boyle
|width="40%" align="center"|Earl of Orrery
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