Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath

Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (born before 1135, died 25 July 1186) was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire, in England. Following his participation in the Norman Invasion of Ireland, in 1172 he was granted the lands of the Kingdom of Meath by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II, but had to gain control of them. The Lordship of Meath was then the most extensive liberty in Ireland.

Born at Durrow, Leinster, Hugh de Lacy was the son of Gilbert de Lacy (died after 1163) of Ewyas Lacy, Weobley, and Ludlow. He is said to have had a dispute with Joscelin de Dinan as to certain lands in Herefordshire in 1154. He was in possession of his father's lands before 1163, and in 1165–66 held fifty-eight and three-quarters knights' fees, and had nine tenants without knight service.

In October 1171 Lacy went over with Henry II as part of an Anglo-Norman force to invade Ireland, and early in 1172 he was sent to receive the submission of Rory, High King of Ireland. Before Henry's return to England about the end of March 1172, Lacy was granted Meath by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority; he was also put in charge of Dublin Castle. As such, it is generally accepted that Lacy was de facto the first Viceroy of Ireland, a position he was to hold three times (in 1172, 1179, and c. 1180), the third time jointly with the Bishop of Salisbury.

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