Nicholas de Meones

Nicholas de Meones or de Moenes (died 1394) was an Irish judge of the fourteenth century. He had a somewhat turbulent career, due to his political partisanship, and was briefly imprisoned on a charge of treason.

Life

He was born in Dublin, the son of Robert de Meones, Mayor of Dublin in 1351–2, and nephew of Gilbert de Meones, a prominent landowner who gave his name to Meonesrath, now Rathmines, a suburb of South Dublin. Gilbert was also a military man, who was Constable of several castles in County Wicklow, including Arklow. The De Meones family had come to Ireland from the village of East Meon in Hampshire in 1279 or 1280, acquired substantial properties in County Dublin, and intermarried with other prominent Dublin families like the Le Decers.

Nicholas went to England in 1365, but returned to Ireland a few years later. He acted as judge of gaol delivery in 1375–6, and received a lump-sum payment of £5 for his judicial services in that regard. The Winetavern Street properties were quickly sold to another well-to-do Dublin family, the Passevaunts.