John Estrete

John Estrete, or Strete (died after 1511) was an Irish judge, author, law lecturer and statesman of the late fifteenth century.

[2] He was a supporter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, who was almost all-powerful in Ireland for many years and was prepared to defy the English Crown on occasion.

[7] He probably owed this appointment to the influence of Gerald FitzGerald, the "Great Earl of Kildare", who was then beginning his effective control of the Irish Government, which he dominated with short intervals for 35 years.

[5] The younger John owned a house on Fishamble Street in Dublin city centre, which he sold to Philip Fleming in 1485.

[10] As King's Serjeant, he was notable for running an elementary law school, at a time when members of the Irish Bar were required to obtain their formal education at the Inns of Court in London.

[11] Estrete remained in office as King's Serjeant when Edward IV was succeeded (after a short hiatus) by his brother Richard III in 1483.

When the Yorkist pretender to the Crown, Lambert Simnel (who falsely claimed to be a nephew of Edward IV and Richard III), appeared in Ireland in 1487 Kildare was his strongest supporter, and encouraged him to invade England and seize the throne.

[17] In 1485 Estrete established a chantry in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where he endowed a priest to sing masses for the souls of his benefactors, Kildare and Portlester.

[18] In 1488 the grant was extended to provide for masses for the souls of the King, and for Estrete's parents, his brothers Patrick and Christopher, and his living and deceased children.