John Walton (died c. 1490) was an English

canon regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religiou ...

who became

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

Life

Little is known of his early life. In 1452 Walton was made Abbot of Osney, and in 1472 was elected as Archbishop of Dublin, and consecrated in England. In 1478 he managed, through the Irish Parliament, to obtain the restitution of some manors alienated by his predecessors. During his tenure

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

authorized the re-establishment of the unsuccessful

University of Dublin The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

, but the plan was never carried out. Walton kept out of politics, and was apparently rather easily bullied. He was overshadowed by his

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, the quarrelsome and unpopular William Sherwood,

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. In 1474 he failed to impose his will on the Dean and Chapter of

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, and was reprimanded by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

for making the attempt. He was completely unable to control Sir James Keating, the violent and turbulent Prior of the Order of

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. When he was replaced as Prior by the English

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Marmaduke Lumley in 1482, Keating had Lumley seized and imprisoned. Despite repeated orders from both Walton and Octavian De Spinellis, the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

, Keating refused to release Lumley, who died in prison.Brenan, M.J ''Ecclesiastical History of Ireland'' John Coyne Dublin 1840 Vol. 2 p.66 Keating himself was eventually removed from office in 1490 for his

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in supporting the claim of the pretender

Lambert Simnel Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the ...

, and died soon after. In 1484, blind and in bad health, he resigned the archbishopric. He retired to his manor of

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. On 17 March 1489, he emerged to preach a sermon for the

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of St. Patrick before the

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at his former cathedral. He died soon afterwards, leaving bequests to Osney Abbey, where he had hoped to be buried, were his death to have occurred in England.

Notes

;Attribution 15th-century births 1490s deaths Canonical Augustinian abbots and priors Archbishops of Dublin 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Canonical Augustinian bishops Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin {{UK-RC-bishop-stub