Henry FitzGerald (abt. 1562 - 1597)

Born about 1562 in County Kildare, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Howard) Brooke — married before 22 Feb 1590 (to 1597) in England

Descendants

Died 30 Sep 1597 at about age 35 in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Adam Tarleton [send private message]

Biography

Born 1562, Henry, 12th Earl of Kildare, was the 2nd. son of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, and his wife Mabel Browne. ^[1].

As a boy he was fostered to the O'Connors of Offaly and was schooled at Rathangan, co. Kildare. ^[2]

1589 / 90 He married Lady Frances Howard (pre 1572 - 1601), the 2nd. daughter of Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham. ^[1] & ^[2]

1575 With his father and his two brothers, he was sent to England where he was arrested on suspicion of Treason and again in 1580 when he escaped to the O'Connors,

1580 death of his elder brother Gerald and so in 1585 He succeded as 12th. Earl of Kildare on the death of his father and was again sent to England. ^[2]

He fought against the Spanish invaders in Ireland in 1588.

Elizabeth Ist. ordered that he be granted lands elsewhere in Leinster in compensation for the retention of the strategic Manor of Carlow. In 1592 He sought to revise his claim on lands in co. Sligo, already having an estate in Lecale, Co. Down, which was frequently raided by the MacCartans. ^[2]

Estranged from his wife Frances in 1594 when Elizabeth I ordered her sent to England to live with her family. ^[2]

Charged with defending the Pale in 1595 whilest the Lord Deputy campaigned in Ulster he earned the soubriquet Henry "na Tuagh", or Henry "of the Battleaxes". ^[2]

He accompanied the new Lord Deputy Thomas Burgh to help quell the Earl of Tyrone's uprising in Ulster, where he was mortally wounded in a skirmish near the Blackwater fort in July 1597. He was brought to his mother's house in Drogheda, where he died on 30th September (aged about 35) from the effects of the wound and was buried in St Bridget's Cathedral, Kildare. Two of his O'Connor foster brothers are also said to have died. ^[2] & ^[3] & ^[4]

He was succeeded bu his brother William as 13th. Earl of Kildare.

Issue: ^[1]

1. Lady Elinor FitzGerald (dvp. young)
2. Lady Bridget FitzGerald (b. c. 1590; d. pre Dec 1682), m(1). pre 1606 Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell - Issue; and m2). bef. 7 Jul 1617 Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall, - Issue
3. Lady Lettice FitzGerald (b. 1592; d. unm.)
4. Elizabeth FitzGerald (b c 1591 d 1611) m. Lucas Plunkett as his 1st wife. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Cracroft's Peerage; The Complete Guide to the British Peerage & Baronetage
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Clavin, Terry; Dictionary of Irish Biography, 2009
3. ↑ The Earls of Kildare, and their ancestors: from 1057 to 1773. By the Marquis of Kildare by Leinster, Charles William Fitzgerald, 4th Duke of, 1821-1886 Pub: 1858
4. ↑ Webb, Alfred; A compendium of Irish biography: comprising sketches of distinguished Irishmen, and of eminent persons connected with Ireland by office or by their writings. pub: 1878 p 190
5. ↑ Elizabeth Plunket - Error in her Genealogy

See Also

• Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th Edition., page 1601. Botrick, William., Editor.
• James Wills' Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen, from the earliest times to the present period (Dublin: Macgregor, Polson 1840-47), p.491
• - The Peerage
• Genealogics
• Wikipedia Henry 12th Earl of Kildare