Born in Limerick, Roche may have followed his brother James in studying at the Catholic College in Saintes.
In 1797, he and another brother took over the family business, a general store in Dominick Street.
This proved successful and survived struggles in the early 1820s which led to the closure of many rivals, but in 1825, they sold its business to the Provincial Bank.
[1] Roche stood at the 1832 UK general election in Limerick City, and won the seat.
[2] Despite this, Roche accepted an invitation to meet with William IV of the United Kingdom in 1833.