He is remembered today mainly for his efforts to save the life of John Alen, Archbishop of Dublin, who was murdered during the Rebellion of Silken Thomas.
His brother Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth, their father's son by his first wife, Alice White, was born around 1460;[1] but Thomas, who was a student in 1503 and still strong and healthy enough to undertake a long journey in 1553, must have been considerably younger.
[2] He was back in Ireland by 1522 when he stood surety for Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, who was suspected of inciting rebellion.
He was given a seat on the Irish Privy Council, an unusual honour for a relatively junior judge, and one which suggests that he was held in high regard by the Crown.
He sought refuge in Artane Castle, whether because St. Lawrence was a friend of his, or simply because it was the nearest shelter he could find, is unclear.
He was brought before Silken Thomas who gave the ambiguous order in the Irish language Beir uaim an bodach ("take this fellow away") whereupon his followers, John Teeling and Nicholas Wafer, killed the Archbishop.
[7] Despite his advanced age, St. Lawrence travelled to Kilkenny to urge the public to oust Bale from office and to return to the Roman Catholic faith.