Sir William Gerard (1518–1581) was an Elizabethan statesman, who had a distinguished record of government service in England, Wales and most notably in Ireland. He sat in the House of Commons for Chester for many years, and was Vice-President of the Council of Wales and the Marches.
He was Lord Chancellor of Ireland for five years. Historians have praised his energetic efforts to reform the Irish legal system, although they differ as to his effectiveness in this task. Despite the fact that he was not a clergyman, he was appointed Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin in 1573, although he admitted to having an "uneasy conscience" about his fitness for any clerical position.[2]