Valence, de

Valence, de, family. Following the death in 1245 of the last son of William Marshal the elder, the great lordship of Leinster was partitioned between his five daughters. The second of these, Joan, wife of Warin de Munchensy, was already deceased, and thus her share went to her daughter, also Joan, who was married to William de Valence, the half‐brother of Henry III. On 12 August 1247 King Henry instructed that Joan and William be given possession of their share of the estate, which consisted of the towns of Wexford, Ferns, Rosslare, Bannow, and Ferrycarrig, all in Co. Wexford, and Odagh, Co. Kilkenny. William, who was created earl of Pembroke in 1264, died in 1296, while Joan died in 1307, to be succeeded by their son Aymer de Valence. At Joan's death the Irish estate was valued at £324, but by 1324 it was worth only £214, and much of it had been repossessed by the Irish. The de Valences were almost always absentees from Ireland, and when Aymer, earl of Pembroke and lord of Wexford, died without issue on 23 June 1324, the de Valence interest in Ireland came to an end, the estate being divided between his nephew and two nieces.

Seán Duffy