These were apparently inspired ĺargely by his close association in the mid-1370s with Sir William de Windsor, the embattled Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
[8] In 1376 Robert was finally dismissed from office as Chief Baron, and given his immense unpopularity with the ruling class, was probably lucky to avoid more serious sanctions.
This pardon may relate to his purchase of Artane (originally called Tartaine) Castle, of which he was the first recorded owner and which remained in his family for two centuries (unlike many judges of the time, he was not in holy orders).
[10] In 1367 he sat on a powerful commission to determine whether or not the manor of Rathkeale was Crown land, but it apparently never reported, since a similar inquiry was launched in 1374.
Ball argues that while some of his fellow judges, notably John Brettan, willingly exposed themselves to the dangers of going on assize, Holywood preferred the comparative security of Dublin.
[12] As for Brettan, while he undoubtedly showed considerable courage in braving the hazards of the journey, he was a Carlow man himself, and had long played a part in the town's defences.
[9] The chaplains were required to pray for the souls of Sir Robert himself, his two wives, and Queen Philippa of Hainault, the deceased wife of King Edward III.
The unpopular and combative Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Sir William de Windsor, was summoned to England in February of that year to answer numerous charges of corruption and maladministration and was suspended from office.
[1] At the same time a flood of complaints by the Anglo-Irish nobility of "extortions, oppressions and injuries" was directed against Holywood and the second Baron of the Irish Exchequer, William de Karlell, who were clearly seen as key members of the Windsor regime.
Both judges were summoned to England, along with Windsor, Stephen de Valle, Bishop of Meath, Sir John Cruys of Thorncastle and others, to answer for their conduct.
He was succeeded as the owner of Artane by his son, the younger Robert de Holywood, who was then a minor (he was born in 1401) and was made a Royal ward.