Pierce Fitzgerald (abt. 1520 - 1593)

Born about 1520 in Ballyshannon, County Kildare, Ireland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 17 Mar 1593 at about age 73 in Ardreigh. Kildare, Ireland

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Biography

Sir Pierce Fitzgerald of Ballyshannon was born about 1520. He is the son of James Fitzgerald. His parents and aunts & uncles are detailed on a family pedigree.^[1]

Sir Pierce was High Sheriff of County Kildare in 1573, 1574, 1578 and 1581 and a strident defender of the Crown against rebels including Walter reagh Fitzgerald. On 17th March 1593, Walter reagh attacked his castle at Ardreigh near Athy and burnt it to the ground, killing Pierce, his wife Elinor/Ellis (daughter of Sir Maurice FitzGerald of Lackagh), and his two daughters, Anne and Catherine. His son James survived. ^[2]

Note: The Kildare Journal (source below) attributes the murder of Sir Pierce & his wife to the O'Byrnes at Castle Ardrie.

Another account of the murder:^[3]

• At this period there was living at Ballyshannon, which lies about five miles to the south-east of Kildare, a Sir Pierce FitzGerald, Kt., son of James FitzGerald, of Ballyshannon. Sir Pierce had become a Protestant, and was in the Government employ ; he was a bitter enemy of Walter Reagh Fitzgerald, and through his exertions had caused the latter to be banished from his native county of Kildare. In consequence of this treatment, Walter Reagh took every opportunity of harassing Sir Pierce, and the crisis came on St. Patrick’s Day, 1593, when Walter Reagh, accompanied by Felim and Redmond O’Byrne, his brothers-in-law, and their followers, proceeded to a place in the county of Kildare called Ardrie, near Athy, and finding Sir Pierce FitzGerald in a little castle that was but thatched with straw or sedge, set fire to the same and burned him, his wife, and two of his daughters there. Sir Pierce’s wife was Ellis, daughter of Sir Maurice FitzGerald (ob. 26th December, 1575), Knight, of Lackagh, and his daughters were Ann and Catherine.

Sources

1. ↑ "The Fitzgeralds of Ballyshannon", Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol. 3 (1899), pp.465-466:
   • https://archive.org/details/journalofcountyk03coun/page/n465/mode/2up
2. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/journalcountyki01socigoog#page/n488/mode/2up Lord Walter Fitzgerald "The FitzGeralds of Ballyshannon (Co. Kildare)" Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society vol 3 1902 p 429]
3. ↑ Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol VII (1912), p.106:
   • https://archive.org/details/journalofcountyk07coun/page/106/mode/2up