He prevailed upon
Henry V to create a
King of Arms in Ireland, with the title of
Ireland King of Arms (altered by
Edward VI to
Ulster King of Arms), and he gave lands in perpetuity to the
College of Heralds, London. He was appointed
Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1405, and
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1420, 1425, and 1442. He appointed
James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond as
Seneschal of
Imokilly in 1420.
The Butler–Talbot feud His term as Lord Lieutenant was marked by his bitter feud with the Talbot family, headed by
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and his brother
Richard,
Archbishop of Dublin, which is said to have involved feelings of actual hatred on both sides. The feud dominated Irish politics to such a degree that almost no public figure could remain neutral: all ended as supporters of one or the other faction. The dispute reached its height in 1442 when Archbishop Talbot, supposedly acting on behalf of the
Irish Parliament, presented the
Privy Council with a long list of grievances against Ormond, who was accused of being old and feeble (in fact he was only fifty, which was not considered a great age even in the fifteenth century), and of having lost most of his Irish estates through negligence; there were also vague references to
treason and
"other crimes which could not be named". The Council summoned Ormond to account for his actions: he defended himself vigorously, and made detailed counter-charges against the Archbishop. The Council took no action against him. Instead, it rebuked both sides of the dispute severely for disrupting the good governance of Ireland. In 1444, Ormond, in an effort to bolster his position, summoned a meeting of the
Great Council at
Drogheda, and inquired whether there were any complaints about his government. The Council through its
Speaker,
Sir James Alleyn, replied that they had no complaints, but on the contrary, were truly grateful to Ormond for his "good and gracious rule" and his "laborious defence of the realm" and that his continued rule was necessary for the public good.
Later years Ormond remained an influential figure in Irish politics, although his later years were troubled by fresh quarrels with the
Earl of Desmond, with
Giles Thorndon, the
Treasurer of Ireland, whom he accused of threatening to murder him, with Thomas Fitzgerald, Prior of the
Knights Hospitaller at Kilmainham, and with
Richard Wogan, the
Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Wogan, in particular, complained that he was no longer able to endure the burden of Ormond's "heavy lordship" and asked to be allowed to deputize his duties. Relations between Ormond and Prior Fitzgerald became so bad that in 1444 it was seriously suggested that they settle the matter through
trial by combat, but King Henry VI intervened personally to persuade them to make peace. FitzGerald was removed from office a few years later. In 1440, Ormond had a grant of the temporalities of the
See of Cashel for ten years, following the death of the
Archbishop of Cashel, Richard O'Hedian. He built the castles of
Nenagh,
Roscrea and
Templemore in North
County Tipperary and Tulleophelim (or Tullowphelim) in
County Carlow. He gave the manor and
advowson of Hickcote in
Buckinghamshire to the
Hospital of St Thomas of Acre in London, which was confirmed by the
Parliament of England (in the third year of
Henry VI) at the suit of his son. Since his father-in-law had no surviving son, Ormond, in right of his second wife Elizabeth, claimed possession of the
Earldom of Kildare, and for some years he was able to keep the legitimate heir out of his inheritance. He died in
Dublin on 23 August 1452 on his return from an expedition against Connor O'Mulrian, and was buried in
St. Mary's Abbey near Dublin. ==Marriage and Children==