Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (abt. 1338 - abt. 1398)

Born about 1338 in Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1398 at about age 60 in Ireland

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Biography

Family and Early Life

Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald was a younger son of Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st earl of Desmond, and his second wife, Avelina, daughter of Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd baron of Kerry.^[1][2][3] His exact date of birth is unknown, but thought to have been about 1338.^[1][2]

In 1356, at the age of about eighteen years, he was taken prisoner in Thomand by the Mac Con Mara family but was released when a truce was signed soon afterward.^[4][2] His father died later that year and was succeeded by Gerald's eldest brother, Maurice.^[2][3] In 1358 (sometime between 20 April and 5 June) Maurice drowned while crossing the Irish Sea.^[1][2] His next oldest brother, Nicholas, was found by an inquisition to be mentally incompetent and Gerald succeeded to the earldom, receiving a grant to the family lands and estates on the conditions that he honorably provide for his brother Nicholas's care, and that he agree to marry Eleanor Butler, daughter of James Butler, justicier of Ireland and 2nd earl of Ormond.^[1][2][5] It was hoped that this marriage would heal long-standing quarrels between the earl of Ormond and the earl of Desmond, but despite the marriage these hopes never materialized.^[6]

Marriage and Children

Sometime after 20 July 1359 Gerald married Eleanor Butler, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond.^[2][3] There were at least six children from this marriage:

• John FitzGerald, 4th earl of Desmond; d. Oct 1399^[7][8]
• Maurice FitzGerald; d. 1410 without issue^[3][9]
• James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond; m. Mary Bourke;^[10] d. 1462^[3][9]
• Joan FitzGerald; m. Maurice FitzJohn FitzNicholas, 5th baron of Kerry^[11]
• Ellice FitzGerald, m. John Barry, 7th Baron Barrymore^[12]
• Catherine FitzGerald; mistress of James Butler, 3rd earl of Ormond^[13][9] m. John FitzThomas^[9]

Life

Desmond's properties included the palatinate of Kerry as well as lands in Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, and Waterford.^[2] He was appointed a commissioner to investigate charges of oppression and corruption against royal officials in Ireland and, from 20 February 1367 until 20 June 1369 he served as justiciar of Ireland.^[1][2] His tenure as justiciar was controversial among the English and popular among the Irish, as he attempted to find ways to successfully blend English rule with native Irish traditions and culture.^[3] It was not a peaceful time in Ireland, and Desmond was frequently called upon to resist the attempts of Irish rulers, such as Brian Ó Briain, to expand their own territories.^[2][3] In 1371 he was captured by Ó Briain during a skirmish in Limerick and held captive on an island off the west coast for over a year.^[2] He was also frequently involved in property disputes with other wealthy families: he had a dispute with the Burke family lasting almost four years, and a decades long feud with the 2nd earl of Ormond which became so contentious that it was denounced at a mass in Dublin Castle by the bishop of Cloyne and at least two mediation sessions were held to try to reconcile the two men.^[14]

The earl of Desmond's love of Irish culture led him to become a patron of Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh, one of the most famous Irish poets of his generation.^[2] Desmond himself dabbled with writing verse and thirty short poems in Irish, attributed to him, known as the Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla ("The poem-book of Earl Gerald") were included in a fifteenth century manuscript called the Book of Fermoy. Wanting at least one of his children to grow up immersed in this culture, in 1388 he sent his son James to be fostered by Conchobhar Ó Briain in a traditional Irish household.^[2][3]

Death

Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd earl of Desmond, has been described as a politician, poet, mathematician, and sometimes a magician.^[6][3] He died in 1398.^[1][2][3] The exact cause of his death is unknown, but legends say that he disappeared beneath the waters of Lough Air and sleeps there, awakening every seven years when his spirit can be seen rising above the lake and revisiting his castle there near Limerick.^[1][3]

Research Notes

Patrick FitzGerald, Amy Fitzmaurice Roche, and Ann Fitzgerald Dillon have all been removed as children of Gerald and Eleanor until reliable sources are found indicating they belong in this family. Stevens-17832 18:15, 23 May 2023 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Shamhráin, Mac, et al. FitzGerald, Gerald fitz Maurice. Dictionary of Irish Biography (Oct 2009).
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Mac Niocaill, Gearóid. Fitzgerald, Gerald fitz Maurice, third earl of Desmond (1338? - 1398). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography onine edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10} Tout, Thomas F. Fitzgerald, Gerald (d. 1398). Dictionary of National Biography archive edition, online.
4. ↑ Cal. Rotulorum Patentium et Clausorum Cancellariae Hibernia, p. 59, cited in Tout, Thomas F. Fitzgerald, Gerald (d. 1398). Dictionary of National Biography archive edition, online.
5. ↑ Fœdera, iii, 433, cited in Tout, Thomas F. Fitzgerald, Gerald (d. 1398). Dictionary of National Biography archive edition, online.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Brief biography of Gerald,Earl of Desmond, from the City of Limerick website.
7. ↑ O'Donovan, John. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters. Dublin: Hodges, Smith and Co. (1856), vol. 4, p. 761.
8. ↑ Beresford, David. FitzGerald, John. Dictionary of Irish Biography online edition (Oct 2009).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Graves, James.The Earls of Desmond, including detailed pedigree charts.,from the series "Unpublished Geraldine Documents" in The Journal of the Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, Third Series, Vol.1, No.2 (1869), pp. 459-498, ped. A, available at jstor.
10. ↑ Graves, James.The Earls of Desmond, including detailed pedigree charts.,from the series "Unpublished Geraldine Documents" in The Journal of the Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, Third Series, Vol.1, No.2 (1869), pp. 459-498, p. 463, available at jstor.
11. ↑ Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. Dublin: J Moore (1789), vol. 1, p. 66.
12. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. London: St Catherine Press (1910), vol 1, p. 438 (VII. 1392).
13. ↑ *hÓgáin, Dáithí Ó. Two Geraldines as Butler Brides (Some Legends from Kilkenny and Tipperary).” Béaloideas 78 (2010): 189-190, available at jstor.
14. ↑ King's Council in Ireland, 16 Richard II, p. 261, Rolls Ser.; and Cal. Rotulorum Patentium et Clausorum Cancellariae Hibernia, pp. 121-122b, cited in Tout, Thomas F. Fitzgerald, Gerald (d. 1398). Dictionary of National Biography archive edition, online.

See Also:

• Close Roll 32 Edward III, no. 17 (10 Mar 1358), Waterford.

• Cokayne, George Edward. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. London: George Bell & Sons (1910), vol. 4, pp. 243-247.

• Lodge, John. The Peerage of Ireland. Dublin: J Moore (1789), vol. 1, pp. 65-66.

• Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin (1878) Available here.

• Wikipedia:Gerald_FitzGerald,_3rd_Earl_of_Desmond

• Calendar of Ormond Deeds, Vol.2, item 344, pp.243-244, "Deed by Katherine of Desmond" (1399).