Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356)

Sir Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356) was a leading soldier and Crown official in fourteenth-century England who served as Justiciar of Ireland. He had considerable early success in restoring law and order in Ireland, but was recalled to England after the situation deteriorated, although he was re-appointed and returned to Ireland shortly before his death.

Background

The Rokebys were a well known landowning family from North Yorkshire; Thomas was probably the son of the Thomas de Rokeby who died in 1318.^[1] His nephew, also Thomas, was closely associated with him in his later years and the elder was often called "l'oncle" to distinguish him from his nephew. It was probably the nephew, not the uncle, who was the grandfather of the Sir Thomas de Rokeby who died c.1423.^[2]

Service in Scotland

Rokeby first came to public attention in 1327 when, after his return from having been a prisoner in Scotland he received a reward from the new King Edward III as the man who had first pointed out the approach of the Scots army; he was knighted and given lands worth £100 a year.^[3] He saw action against the Scots regularly between 1336 and 1342 and had charge of Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle while they were held by the English. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire 1342-1349. He was one of the English commanders at the Battle of Neville's Cross, and it was said, "gave the Scots such a draught as they did not care to taste again".^[4] He was then charged with bringing King David II of Scotland to London, and he received further grants of land.

Justiciar of Ireland

In 1349 he was appointed Justiciar of Ireland, and given a large armed retinue, as it was recognised that "Ireland is not in good plight or good peace". He arrived in December and made a quick circuit of the south of Ireland, mainly to keep watch on the troublesome magnate Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond^[5]

Administrative reforms

Rokeby was praised by his contemporaries for his regard for justice and his zeal in checking the extortion of Crown officials. He undertook what has been called a general overhaul of the Irish administration, aimed particularly at the detection of corruption and the removal of incompetent officials.^[6] Arguably he showed excessive zeal in arresting the Treasurer of Ireland, Robert de Emeldon, a man who enjoyed the King's personal regard. ^[7] Admittedly the charges against Emeldon were very serious, including rape, robbery and manslaughter, but the King had already pardoned Emeldon for killing a man, and he was once more pardoned and quickly released.

In November 1351 Rokeby held a Great Council at Kilkenny. It dealt partly with the problem of official corruption already described, partly with the problem of defence of the Pale, and partly with the question of intermarriage and other close contacts between the Anglo-Irish and the Old Irish. Otway-Ruthven notes that little of the legislation was new, apart from the application to Ireland of the English Statute of Labourers of 1351, and that much of it was repeated in the later Statutes of Kilkenny of 1366.^[8]

Military campaigns

In 1353 the Clan MacCarthy of Muskerry, which had until then been loyal to the Crown, rebelled. Rokeby showed considerable skill in crushing the uprising and succeeded in replacing the rebellious chieftain Dermot MacCarthy with his more compliant cousin Cormac, ancestor of the Earl of Clancarty.^[9]

This promising state of good order did not last: a rebellion by the O'Byrne Clan of Wicklow in 1354 was followed by a general uprising headed by the MacMurrough-Kavanagh dynasty. Although Muirchearteach MacMurrough-Kavanagh, styled King of Leinster, was captured and executed, Rokeby suffered several military defeats. He was unable to overcome the O'Byrnes in Wicklow, and other risings took place in Tipperary, Kildare and Ulster.^[10]

Recall and last years

Rokeby was now an ageing and discouraged man, and in 1355 it was decided to recall him. His replacement, rather surprisingly, was that Earl of Desmond whom it had been one of his main tasks to keep in check. Desmond died a year later and Rokeby was reappointed Justiciar, and returned to Ireland, only to die soon afterwards at Kilkea Castle.^[11]

Kilkea Castle, Rokeby's Irish stronghold, where he died in 1356.

Character

Rokeby was a popular and respected figure in Ireland: "one who paid well for his victuals, and did not rob the poor".^[12] The citizens of Cork, protesting at his recall, referred to his "evident good work" in maintaining law and order. Otway-Ruthven contrasts his early successes with his disappointing later record and notes that the 1350s were later seen as the crucial decade in which the English Crown finally lost control of much of Ireland.^[13]

References