William Skeffington

Bef 1467 - 1535  (> 69 years)

• Name	William Skeffington
  Born	Bef 1467	Skeffington, Leicestershire, England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	31 Dec 1535	Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland   [2]
  Buried	St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland   [2]
  Person ID	I17478	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of JTS
  Last Modified	13 Sep 2018

  
  

  Father	Thomas Skeffington,   b. of Skeffington, Leicestershire, England ,   d. Bef 1488
  Mother	Mary
  Family ID	F10858	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Anne Digby,   b. of Kettleby, Lincolnshire, England
  Children	+ 1. Catherine Skeffington
  Last Modified	9 Sep 2018
  Family ID	F10739	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Lord Deputy of Ireland. An ineffectual and sometimes brutal administrator, he was remembered as "the Gunner" for bringing heavy artillery to the siege of Maynooth Castle in March 1535, when he was 70 years old, the first appearance of (what were then) advanced firearms in warfare in Ireland. He is also remembered for accepting the surrender of the castle's garrison and then ordering them all immediately butchered, an act known as "the pardon of Maynooth." He was married twice, both times to women born with the surname Digby. His first wife was Margaret Digby, daughter of Sir Everard Digby of Tilton, by whom he had his son and heir Thomas. Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, 1509. Appointed master of the ordnance in May 1515, in which capacity he attended Henry VIII at the Field of Cloth and Gold. Knight of the shire for Leicestershire in 1529.

  
  

• Sources

  [S49] Genealogics by Leo Van de Pas, continued by Ian Fettes and Leslie Mahler. [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.