Robert Traill or Trail (1793–1847) was a clergyman in the established Church of Ireland. He was rector of Schull, County Cork from 1832 until his death and part-owned a copper mine in the area. Traill complained of losing tithes from the Roman Catholic population due to the 1830s Tithe War but was recognised for his compassion during the Great Famine in Ireland from 1846. He was depicted in an Illustrated London News article of the time and was the subject of a letter published in several newspapers.
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Early career
Traill was born in Lisburn, County Antrim on 15 July 1793 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1814. He spent some time in France and Italy before travelling to England where he was ordained by Henry Ryder, Bishop of Gloucester in 1820. He afterwards worked as a curate in Ireland. He earned the degree of Doctor of Divinity and afterward, in 1832, was appointed the rector of Schull, County Cork. He antagonised some local people with his fervent evangelical Christianity. He translated some of the manuscripts of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, into English.
In 1840 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being Thomas Stewart Traill. As an "ordinary" fellow this indicates his physical presence in Edinburgh at that time, possibly to visit his cousin. He probably stayed with Traill at his grand townhouse, 10 Albyn Place on the Moray Estate.
Traill is said to have discovered copper at the Dhurode mine on Mizen Head which first operated between 1844 and 1846. He was a major shareholder in the mine and one of its six shafts was named after him.