John Drake (mayor)

He was acclaimed by his fellow Dubliners as a hero for his decisive victory over the O'Byrne clan of County Wicklow at the Battle of Bloody Bank in July 1402.

Matilda (or Maud) Drake, who married the eminent judge Sir Christopher Bernevall, was also a close relative, possibly a sister, of John.

[3] Ironically this reputation seems to have increased his public standing, as it was clearly felt that whatever his faults he was the man best suited to lead the people of Dublin (who could be quite aggressive in their dealings with their neighbours) in a crisis.

This fatal hesitation gave the Walsh family, who owned nearby Carrickmines Castle, time to warn the authorities in Dublin of the impending raid.

In 1422 and again in 1425 he paid for the saying of mass by the monks of Holy Trinity Church for the souls of himself, his parents, his wife Isabella, and her first husband John Buckland.

They did not forget or forgive him: a much later ballad composed by an O'Byrne descendant referred bitterly to Drake as the general who slaughtered hundreds of innocents at the Dargle.

The balance of the evidence however is that Drake, though he could be impetuous and violent at times, acted on that occasion in accordance with his duty to keep Dublin safe from attack.