[3] Roger Challoner was a London silk merchant, a Gentleman-Usher of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII of England, and a Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer; it is recorded that he obtained the fishing rights of Galway City in 1538.
[6] John Challoner was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1541 and had begun a career by 1547 in the English-ruled outpost of Calais, on mainland France, as an auditor.
[7] It is not clear at what stage Challoner resettled in Ireland, but his move may have been prompted by the final loss of Calais to French forces in 1558.
The first reference to John Challoner in Irish records appears in 1551 when he was granted Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin.
As Secretary, Challoner's role also included that of Keeper of the Royal Signet and membership of the Privy Council of Ireland.
[11] In 1563, he wrote to his English counterpart Lord Burghley asking to be relieved of the office in favour of his own brother Francis, as he wanted to concentrate on developing silver and gold mining on Lambay; but he stayed on until his death in 1581 when he was replaced by Sir Geoffrey Fenton.
[12][13] He had applied to become Irish Master of the Rolls in 1564, and despite making it to a final shortlist of four candidates, was beaten to the post by Henry Draycott.
The suppression of monasteries in 1538 by King Henry VIII saw the closure of the 12th century Augustinian priory called All Hallows.
Originally the Challoner grave was inside the College Chapel but reconstruction in the late 19th century saw the layout of the building change.
John Challoner, Secretary of State, is often confused with his contemporary namesake who was also prominent in Dublin politics, but died sixteen years earlier.