John de Kirkby

John de Kirkby (died 1423) was an English scholar, cleric and Crown official who held high judicial office in Ireland, and ended his career as Archdeacon of Carlisle.

He is first heard of at the University of Oxford, where he is said to have been Master of a College. He was in holy orders and is said to have held numerous livings. He entered the Royal service, and became a clerk in the English Court of Chancery. He first went to Ireland in the entourage of Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester, in 1397. He was appointed Master of the Rolls in Ireland and acted as Deputy to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

After the downfall of Richard II Kirkby evidently transferred his allegiance to the new King Henry IV; he returned to England in 1400. He accompanied the King on his expedition to Scotland later in the same year, before returning to Ireland for a time in 1404.

He was appointed Archdeacon of Carlisle in about 1415 and held the office until his death in early January 1423.

Sources

• Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921