John Keppock

John Keppock (died 1404) was an Irish judge of the late fourteenth century, who held the offices of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and Deputy Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He became a politician of some importance and earned recognition for his loyalty to the English Crown.

Keppock was the son of Simon Keppock of Drumcashel, County Louth. The Keppock (or Cappock) family settled in Louth shortly after the Norman Conquest of Ireland and were closely associated with the town of Ardee. The High Sheriff of Louth, John Keppock of Ardee, who died in 1412 and was a leading figure in that town's government, as well as Roger Keppock, a merchant in Ardee in 1414, were likely cousins of the judge.^[1]

Keppock was living in England in 1352 and acted as counsel for the powerful Anglo-Irish Cusack family.^[2] He returned to Ireland a few years later, and in 1356 he was appointed King's Serjeant in Ireland.

In 1364, he became Lord Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and in 1367 he was appointed Lord Chief Justice "ad placitum" (at the pleasure of the King).^[3] In 1370, he stepped down as Lord Chief Justice in favour of William de Skipwith, but remained a judge of the Bench.^[a] In 1372, he was reappointed Lord Chief Justice and acted as Deputy to William Tany, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland^[b], for assizes in Waterford in 1375.^[5] He witnessed the letters patent appointing a new Lord Lieutenant in 1377.^[6] His term as Deputy was continued when Tany went to England to report on the state of Irish affairs.

In 1382 he stood down again as Chief Justice to become an ordinary judge of the Bench.

From 1373–4, Keppock and two colleagues^[c] conducted an inquiry into the English Crown's right to treasure trove, which expanded to cover prerogative rights in general, in County Wexford and County Waterford.^[7] The judges were also granted the power to arrest ships.^[3]

In 1375, he was tasked with addressing complaints from the citizens of Drogheda concerning an attempt to block the import of corn.^[8]

In 1377, he began regular summons to the Parliament of Ireland, a testament to his growing political standing. Following the death of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March in 1381, Keppock was among the senior judges summoning the temporal and spiritual peers to inform them of the Earl's death and appoint a Lord Deputy to replace him.^[8]

He was presumably the "John Keppagh" who was one of two judges appointed to try a case of novel disseisin in 1401.^[9]

In 1378, Keppock petitioned for a review of his salary, which had been in arrears. This inquiry confirmed that he had not received full payment in four years, leading to an order for his complete remuneration. In 1381 it was agreed that, due to his extra cares and expenses, he should be paid £30 a year above his normal salary.^[3] After he stepped down as Chief Justice in 1382, he received an extra payment for his expenses while on assizes.^[10]

At some time after 1358, Keppock married Matilda Gernoun, the twice-widowed wife of William de Nottingham^[d] and John Gernoun, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. They had no known children, though Matilda had a son, John, by her previous marriage with John Gernoun, who likely came of age by 1350.^[11] Keppock died in 1404.^[2]

Keppock was praised by the Crown for his "circumspection and loyalty." His legal and political roles established him as a notable figure in late fourteenth-century Ireland.^[12]