Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester

Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester (died 19 December 1496) was an Irish peer, statesman and judge, and one of the dominant political figures in late fifteenth-century Ireland.

Career

FitzEustace was the son of Sir Edward FitzEustace of Castlemartin, Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Lord Treasurer of Ireland by Edward IV of England in 1474 and was elevated to the Irish peerage as Baron Portlester in 1462. In the latter year he was accused of treason, but defended himself with such vigour that the charges were dropped: similar charges made in 1470 were not pursued.^[1] In 1474 he was a founder member of the Brotherhood of Saint George, a military order charged with the defence of the Pale , the only part of Ireland which was more or less under secure English rule.

In 1478 when his son-in-law, Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare was replaced as Lord Deputy of Ireland by Henry Grey, 4th (7th) Baron Grey of Codnor, Portlester organised a campaign of non-cooperation with the new Deputy. When Grey ordered him to hand over the Great Seal of Ireland, Portlester refused point blank, thus making the conduct of official business impossible. The King went to considerable lengths to support Grey, even ordering Thomas Archbold, the Master of the Royal Mint in Ireland, to strike a new Great Seal, declaring that the Seal held by Portlester was annulled, and that all acts passed under it under it were utterly void; but these efforts were no avail. So effective was the campaign of obstruction that after a few months Lord Grey was forced to return to England.^[2] Portlester was reappointed Chancellor by Henry VII, but removed because of his part in the crowning of the pretender, Lambert Simnel, as King Edward VI of England, on May 24, 1487. This coronation took place in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. Nearly every noble and Prince in Ireland took part in the coronation. Simnel invaded England with an Irish army which was crushed at the Battle of Stoke. Henry VII was magnanimous in victory, sparing Simnel's life and issuing pardons to Portlester and his fellow peers;^[3] but he decided to split the offices held by Lord Portlester between Alexander Plunket and Sir James Ormond.^[4] Portlester nonetheless remained an influential figure for the remaining decade of his life, and was able to fight off an attack on his record as Treasurer in 1493.

Family

He was married three times.^[5] His wives were:

• Elizabeth Brune
• Joan (or Jenet) Bellew, widow of Christopher Plunket, 2nd Baron Killeen, whom he married in 1463
• Margaret (or Marguerite) d'Artois, granddaughter and heiress of the Gascon-born knight Sir Jenico d'Artois, and widow of Sir John Dowdall, whom he married sometime after 1467. This marriage brought him a considerable increase in his landholdings, since Margaret through her mother Jane Serjeant was heiress to half of the lands Castleknock, County Dublin, although her right to the lands was disputed by the Barnewall family.

He had issue by all of his wives, but it is uncertain which wife was the actual mother of each particular child.^[6] His only legitimate son, Richard, died young.

His daughters were:

• Alice, married Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare.^[7]
• Joan, married Richard Plunkett, 2nd Baron of Dunsany
• Jenet, wife of Sir Walter Delahide: they both played an important role in the rebellion of the Earl's grandson, Silken Thomas, and Jenet died in prison under suspicion of treason.
• Margaret, married Christopher Rochfort
• Maud, married Thomas Marward, titular Baron Skryne

He also had an illegitimate son:

• Oliver FitzEustace, who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer; since Oliver seems to have been mentally deficient, his father further extended his influence by appointing Deputies to act on his behalf.

The barony became extinct on his death in 1496, but his nephew Thomas was created Viscount Baltinglass in 1541. Sir Maurice Eustace, a wealthy and influential member of the same clan who became Lord Chancellor of Ireland, accepted the title Baron Portlester at the Restoration of Charles II, then changed his mind, apparently because he had no legitimate son to succeed him.

Reputation

Elrington Ball regarded him as perhaps the most important Irish political figure during his 40-year career, more influential even than his son-in-law, the "Great Earl of Kildare."

Memorial

There is a memorial to him and his third wife Margaret in St. Audoen's Church, Dublin, erected by him in gratitude for his preservation from shipwreck near the site.^[8] He founded New Abbey, Kilcullen, where he is buried. His estates passed to his nephew Thomas Eustace, 1st Viscount Baltinglass.

References

1. Otway-Ruthven, A.J. History of Medieval Ireland Barnes and Noble Reissue 1993 p. 389
2. Otway-Ruthven p.398
3. Gilbert, John Thomas "Roland FitzEustace" Dictionary of National Biography 1885–1900 Vol. 18 p.53
4. O'Flanagan, J. Roderick The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland 2 Volumes London 1870
5. Gilbert p.53
6. Gilbert p.53
7. Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 John Murray London 1926
8. Report (18 February 1875). "Eustace Family". The Irish Times. p. 5.

External links

• Lord Portlester's Chapel at libraryireland.com