Richard Plunkett
Richard Plunkett (c.1340-1393) was an eminent Irish judge and statesman who held the offices of Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. His descendants held the titles Baron Dunsany, Baron Killeen and Earl of Fingall.
Family background
He was born about 1340, son of Richard Plunkett of Rathregan, County Meath. The Plunketts were a long-established Anglo-Irish family of the Pale, having settled at Beaulieu in Meath about 1200. Another branch of the family later held the title Baron Louth.
Career
He was considered to be one of the best lawyers of his generation, and was appointed King's Serjeant in 1372.[1] He was also a noted Parliamentarian; he sat in the Irish House of Commons and took a leading part in the Kilkenny Parliament of 1374. He became a judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas in 1376. In July 1388 he was promoted to Chief Justice of the King's Bench and the following September was made Lord Chancellor. Elrington Ball[2] puts his death around 1389, but O'Flanagan[3] states that he was still alive in 1393, when Richard Northalis succeeded him as Chancellor.
Character
O'Flanagan[4] calls him one of the most eminent Irishmen of his time, a lawyer of great distinction and equally distinguished for his Parliamentary career.
Descendants
Richard married Margaret, widow of Robert Burnell. They had three children, Christopher, John, and Anne. Christopher was grandfather of the first Baron Killeen.[5]