Preston of Gormanston Ireland

The first Irish Preston of note was Roger de Preston who was appointed a justice in the Court of Common Pleas in 1330 in the first year of the reign of Edward III. In the account roll of the priory of the Holy Trinity, Dublin 1337-1346 there is the following entry in 1346: ‘Also in wine bought for the archdeacon of Dublin, Roger de Preston, Nicholas de Suyterbery, and their retinue, on Sunday (Oct. 1) next after the feast of St. Michael, after dinner, 6 1/2 pence.’ From this we can assume that Roger was in the company of both the archdeacon and Nicholas de Suyterbery and their collective retinue when they visited Christ Church in that year. Roger de Preston’s son Sir Robert de Preston (d.1396) was knighted in the field, in 1361, by Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and obtained a grant forever of the Manor of Gormanston in the Counties of Dublin and Meath.The first Preston to become a Viscount was Sir Christopher Preston 1st Viscount Gormanston. This man must have been a very talented person, who was good at networking. He was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1478. In the same year he was created a Viscount.