Richard de Wirkeley

Richard de Wirkeley (died after 1357) was an English born cleric who was Prior of the Order of Hospitallers in Ireland and held officevery briefly asLord Chief Justice of Ireland.

Little is known of his early years. De Wirkeley was a fairly common name in Yorkshire in that era; itmay indicate a connectionwith the town ofWakefield.He had entered the Order's English house by 1353. In 1354 he was sent to Ireland as Prior of the Order's Irish house at Kilmainham. In 1356 he was chosen to replace John de Rednesse as Lord Chief Justice; butKing Edward IIIquickly changed his mind and reappointed Rednesse. Wirkeley seems to have resented his removal from office, sincethe King issued an injunctionordering him not tomeddlein the matter any further.

Thisreprimandsuggests that de Wirkeleywas a somewhat turbulent individual. This is confirmed by an episode which occurredthe following year,when the King appointed a commission to investigate an allegation that Simon Warde, a servant to John Gynwell, Bishop of Lincoln, had been assaulted by Wirkeley and other members of his Order, including John de Pavely,Prior of the Order'sEnglish house, on whom Warde had been attempting to serve a summons to appear in a lawsuit.It is notable that the commission included two men, Henry de Motlowe and William de Notton, who like Wirkeleyserved as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. As often in this era, the result of the inquiry seems to have been inconclusive.

His date of death is unknown.