John Le Decer (died 1332) was a fourteenth-century Mayor of Dublin, who had a notable record of charitable works and civic improvement. Since the surname is not a common one, it is possible that Robert le Decer, Sheriff of Dublin City in 1280, was a relative of John. John Le Decer served as mayor on six occasions, in 1302, 1305, from 1307 to 1309 and in 1324. He was a man of considerable wealth, and carried out a number of noted public works "at his own expense". His most striking project was the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

he built in 1308. This held Dublin's main water

conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit curre ...

in Cornmarket, adjacent to St. Audoen's Church in the centre of the medieval city, a work "such as was never seen here before". It was commonly called "Le Decer's Fountain", and is so described on the 1400 map of St. Audoen's Church and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. He set up Dublin's so-called "Lucky Stone" (a ninth-century grave marker) there, reputedly so that everyone who drank from the cistern should have good luck; it had previously been situated inside St Audoen's.Leeper, Alexander ''History of St Audoen's'' (by the rector) Dublin 1873 In 1308 he built a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the River Liffey, called New Bridge, near

St. Wolstan's Priory St. Wolstan's Priory is a former Augustinian ( Victorine) monastery located in County Kildare, Ireland. Location St. Wolstan's Priory is located on the eastern edge of Celbridge, on the south bank of the River Liffey; it lies southeast of Cas ...

, about halfway between

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

and Leixlip, County Kildare. He also built "at great expense" a bridge over the

River Tolka The River Tolka (; , "the flood"), also once spelled ''Tolga'', is one of Dublin's three main rivers, flowing from County Meath to Fingal within the old County Dublin, and through the north of Dublin city, Ireland (the other main rivers are t ...

Ballybough Ballybough () is an inner city district of northeast Dublin city, Ireland. Adjacent areas include the North Strand and Clonliffe. Location Ballybough is an inner city district of northeast Dublin. Neighbouring districts include Drumcondra to ...

, northeast of Dublin city, in 1313, but this was destroyed by floods not long afterwards. During a time of

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

(probably the Great Famine of 1315–1317), he hired three ships to go to France and buy corn, which he distributed to the poor of Dublin. He also made a free gift of corn to the

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

, who lacked the money to buy it. He is described, in

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...

's ''Britannia'' (updated by Richard Gough c.1790), as an "excellent magistrate". He was also generous in his support for religious houses, paying for the building of a new

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in the

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

of Kilmainham, and for extensive works in the

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of Saint Francis. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery, founded in 1235, was situated on present-day Francis Street in Dublin city centre, but all trace of it has vanished. It was his custom to entertain the monks of Saint Francis to dinner once a week. It was in the chapel of this monastery that he was buried in 1332. He was married and had at least one daughter, Elena, who married Robert de Meones, of the prominent

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

De Meones family The De Meones, or de Moenes family were an Anglo-Irish family who originated at East Meon in Hampshire. They moved to Ireland in the late thirteenth century, became substantial landowners in Dublin and Meath, and gave their name to the suburb of Ra ...

who gave their name to the suburb of

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

in south Dublin. They had at least one son, John de Meones, who served three terms as Mayor of Dublin between 1331 and 1338.

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* * * * * * * {{refend Lord Mayors of Dublin 1332 deaths People from Dublin (city)