Who is Lord Richard of Northwoods from Daughter of the Forest and what is their importance?

Lord Richard of Northwoods is Red's uncle. He is obsessed with battling the Irish, even though Red claims that no one can quite remember what began the conflict in the first place. Lord Richard journeys to Ireland regularly in to fight and gain more land on the island.

When Sorcha arrives at Harrowfield, Richard sees her as a possible ransom against one of the warlords in Ireland. The more he learns about her, however, he begins to think that maybe she knows something about Richard's involvement in the disappearance of Red's brother, Simon.