Meiler Fitzhenry

Meiler FitzHenry (sometimes spelled Meilyr; died 1220) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland during the Lordship of Ireland.

Background and early life Meilyr FitzHenry was the son of Henry FitzHenry, an illegitimate son of King Henry I, by Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of Deheubarth (South Wales). He was thus related to the noblest Norman and native families of South Wales. Robert Fitz-Stephen, Maurice FitzGerald, David FitzGerald, bishop of St. David's, and William FitzGerald of Carew were his uncles. Meilyr's cousins included Raymond le Gros, Gerald of Wales, prince Rhys ap Gruffydd, the famous Lord Rhys, as well as Henry II.

In 1158 his father, Henry FitzHenry, was killed in battle during Henry II's campaign in Wales. Meilyr, Henry's oldest son, succeeded to his father's possessions of Narberth and Pebidiog, the central and north-eastern parts of the modern Pembrokeshire.

In Ireland During the initial stages of the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland, FitzHenry gained a reputation for bravery that bordered on foolhardiness. stated that he was superseded between 1203 and 1205 by Hugh de Lacy, but many writs are addressed to him as Justice during these years. On several occasions assessors or counsellors were associated with him in his work, and he was directed to do nothing of exceptional importance without their advice (e.g. Hugh de Lacy in 1205).

FitzHenry remained one of the most powerful of Irish barons, even after he ceased to be Justiciar. About 1212 his name appears immediately after that of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke in the protest of the Irish barons against the threatened deposition of John by the Pope, and the declaration of their willingness to live and die for the king. Several gifts from the king marked John's appreciation of his administration of Ireland. But it was not till August 1219 that all the expenses incurred during his viceroyalty were defrayed from the exchequer. He must by that date have been a very old man. Already in 1216 it was thought likely that he would die, or at least retire from the world into a monastery.

Death There is no reference to his acts after 1219, and he died in 1220. He was buried in the chapter-house at Great Connell Priory in County Kildare.

Legacy

He founded in 1202 Great Connell Priory in County Kildare, which he handed over to the Austin canons of Llanthony, near Gloucester. This he endowed with large estates, with all the churches and benefices in his Irish lands, with a tenth of his household expenses, rents, and produce.

Family

By the niece of Hugh de Lacy, Meilyr fathered a son, also named Meilyr, who in 1206 was old enough to dispossess William de Braose of Limerick, and whose forays into Tyrconnell had already spread devastation among the Irish. FitzHenry's older brother, Robert Fitzhenry, had died around 1180.