William FitzJohn

In 1310 he was present at the session of the Parliament of Ireland held in Kilkenny, where he and his fellow bishops decreed that monks of Gaelic origin should not be professed.

King Edward II, though he originally had a candidate of his own, appears to have supported the choice of Fitzjohn, whom he knew and respected, and even to have lobbied for him in the final stages of the contest.

However, he can hardly have been universally beloved, judging by the number of complaints made over the years about his greed, corruption and immoral living; and his quarrels with the Papacy and the King (previously a staunch friend of his) show the less agreeable side of his character.

He was reputed to have accumulated great wealth, but this seems unlikely in view of the pleas of poverty made by King Edward to the Pope on his behalf, just six years before he died, although his alleged appropriation of the benefices of Cloyne gives some credence to the story.

Lurid rumours about his private life - in particular the story that he had fathered fourteen illegitimate daughters, all of whom he married to very rich men - which were circulated in his last years, can probably be discounted as malicious inventions.