Robert le Poer
Robert le Poer (died c.1346) was an Irish judge and Crown official who held the offices of Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. Family Francis Elrington Ball, in his definitive study of the pre-1921 Irish judiciary, says nothing of Robert's ancestry. Other sources state that he was a younger son of Arnold le Poer, Seneschal of Kilkenny (died 1328). Arnold was one of the commanders of the army of Edward II which defeated the invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce, the younger brother of Robert the Bruce. He became a figure of considerable power in his native county, but his career was destroyed by the Kilkenny Witchcraft Trials. Arnold's support for the alleged leader of the local coven of witches, his relative Alice Kyteler, gained him the enmity of Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory, who was the prime mover behind the Trials. Arnold made what was in hindsight the serious mistake of having the Bishop arrested and imprisoned. The Bishop quickly secured his release, and Arnold in his turn was arrested on charges of heresy. He died in Dublin Castle in 1328 while awaiting trial. There seems no reason to doubt this account