John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond

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John FitzThomas
Baron Desmond
Fitzmaurice Coat of Arms 1.png
Tenure1259-1261
PredecessorNew creation
Successor Thomas FitzGeraldhi
DiedAugust 1261
Callan, Kilgarvan
Nationality Irish
Wars and battles Battle of Callann
Issue Maurice FitzJohn
Parents Thomas Fitzmaurice
A memorial at the site of the Battle of Callann Battle of Callan Grave.jpg
A memorial at the site of the Battle of Callann

John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond (died 1261) was the son of Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello by his wife Ellinor, daughter of Jordan de Marisco, and sister of Geoffrey de Marisco, who was appointed justiciar of Ireland in 1215. [1] [2] He was the grandson of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan. [3]

Contents

Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello was the founder of the Desmond line of the FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty and ancestor of the powerful Earls of Desmond (now extinct), as well as other dynasties, including the modern Green Knights of Kerry and former Black Knights of Glin. [4] The other extinct Desmond Geraldines are the Lords of Decies and the White Knights. [5]

In 1259, FitzThomas received a royal grant of Desmond and west Waterford in fee. Fineen MacCarthy, son of Donal Gott MacCarthy and King of Desmond gathered his troops to oppose this. [6] MacCarthy's forces included the O'Sullivans, whom the Norman incursions into Munster in the 1180s had forced from their original homeland in County Tipperary. They became the chief princes underneath their close kinsmen the MacCarthys. MacCarthy was also joined by the O'Donoghue, also related.[ citation needed ]

In July 1261 the three Gaelic clans joined to face the Normans at the Battle of Callann and won a complete victory. [6] Both John FitzGerald and his son, Maurice FitzJohn, died in the fighting. John FitzGerald was succeeded by his grandson, Maurice's son Thomas FitzMaurice, 2nd Baron Desmond. [7]

The FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne, but they descend from the 1st Baron Desmond's nephew, Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, son of his brother Maurice FitzThomas. Thus in fact they represent a "sister" branch to the FitzGeralds of Desmond. However this technically makes them slightly closer to the FitzGeralds of Desmond than either are to the Offaly-Kildare-Leinster Geraldines, represented by the modern Dukes of Leinster, who descend from Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond. [7]

Marriages and issue

John was the father of Maurice FitzJohn, who died with him at the Battle of Callann, and of Osborn Fitzgerald, founder of the House of Corsygedol. [3] [8] [9] John was succeeded in his baronial title by Maurice's son, Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight of Glin</span> Irish hereditary title

The Knight of Glin, also known as the Black Knight or Knight of the Valley, was an hereditary title held by the FitzGerald and FitzMaurice families of County Limerick, Ireland, since the early 14th century. The family was a branch of the FitzMaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty commonly known as the Geraldines and related to the now extinct Earls of Desmond who were granted extensive lands in County Limerick by the Crown. The title was named after the village of Glin, near the Knight's lands. The Knight of Glin was properly addressed as "Knight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Desmond</span> Title of Irish nobility granted by the English Monarch

Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland which has been created four times since 1329. The title was first awarded to Maurice FitzGerald, 4th Baron Desmond, a Hiberno-Norman lord in Southwest Ireland, and it was held by his descendants until 1583 when they rose against the English crown in the Desmond Rebellions. Following two short-lived recreations of the title in the early 1600s, the title has been held since 1628 by the Feilding family of Warwickshire, England. The current holder is Alexander Feilding, 12th Earl of Denbigh and 11th Earl of Desmond.

Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland, named after County Kerry. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Desmond</span> Kingdom in southwest Ireland (1118–1596)

The Kingdom of Desmond was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond. It comprised all of what is now County Cork and most of County Kerry. Desmond was ruled by the Mac Cárthaigh (MacCarthy) dynasty. Other clans within the kingdom included the O'Sullivans and O'Donovans. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century, the eastern half of Desmond was conquered by the Anglo-Normans and became the Earldom of Desmond, ruled by the Fitzmaurices and FitzGeralds—the famous Irish family known as the Geraldines. The king of Desmond, Diarmaid Mac Cárthaigh submitted to Henry II of England, but the western half of Desmond lived on as a semi-independent Gaelic kingdom. It was often at war with the Anglo-Normans. Fínghin Mac Carthaigh's victory over the Anglo-Normans at the Battle of Callann (1261) helped preserve Desmond's independence. The kings of Desmond founded sites such as Blarney Castle, Ballycarbery Castle, Muckross Abbey and Kilcrea Friary. Following the Nine Years' War of the 1590s, Desmond became part of the Kingdom of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FitzGerald dynasty</span> Cambro-Norman, later Hiberno-Norman dynasty, holding power in Ireland over centuries

The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the Four Masters as having become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" or Gaels, due to assimilation with the native Gaelic aristocratic and popular culture. The dynasty has also been referred to as the Geraldines and Ireland's largest landowners. They achieved power through colonisation and the conquest of large swathes of Irish territory by the sons and grandsons of Gerald de Windsor. Gerald de Windsor was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Wales, and became the male progenitor of the FitzMaurice and FitzGerald Dynasty. His father, Baron Walter FitzOther, was the first Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle for William the Conqueror, and was the Lord of 38 manors in England, making the FitzGeralds one of the "service families" on whom the King relied for his survival. Some of its members became the Black Knights, Green Knights and White Knights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Callann</span> 13th century battle in Ireland

The Battle of Callann was fought in August 1261 between the Hiberno-Normans, under John FitzGerald, and three Gaelic clans: MacCarthy, who held the Kingdom of Desmond, under Fínghin Mac Carthaigh, King of Desmond, ancestor of the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. It took place in the townland of Callann or Collon near modern-day Kilgarvan, County Kerry. MacCarthaigh was victorious.

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, called "fitz Maurice", was a native Irish and Anglo-Norman captain-general of Desmond while Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, was detained in England by Queen Elizabeth after the Battle of Affane in 1565. He led the first Desmond Rebellion in 1569 and was sometimes called the "Archtraitor" by the English. He surrendered in 1573, prostrating himself in Kilmallock church before John Perrot, president of Munster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight of Kerry</span>

Knight of Kerry, also called The Green Knight, is one of three Hiberno-Norman hereditary knighthoods, all of which existed in Ireland since feudal times. The other two were The White Knight, being dormant since the 19th century, and the Knight of Glin, dormant since 2011. All three belong to the FitzMaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty commonly known as the Geraldines being created by the Earls of Desmond for their kinsmen.

Events from the year 1261 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan</span> Anglo-Norman nobleman

Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Maynooth, Naas, and Llanstephan (born: almost certainly not at Windsor Castle, more likely Carew in Wales c.1105 – September c.1176 Wexford, Ireland. He was a medieval Anglo-Norman baron and a major figure in the Norman Invasion of Ireland.

Fitzmaurice is a Hiberno-Norman, Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman surname. It is patronymic as the prefix Fitz-
derives from the Latin filius, meaning "son of".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly</span> Norman nobleman in Ireland

Gerald FitzMaurice, jure uxoris 1st Lord of Offaly was a Cambro-Norman nobleman who took part with his father, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan, in the Norman Invasion of Ireland (1169–71). Together with his five brothers and one sister Nesta they founded the notable FitzGerald/FitzMaurice dynasty which was to play an important role in Irish history.

Cormac na Haoine MacCarthy Reagh, 13th Prince of Carbery (1490–1567) was an Irish chieftain who owned almost half a million acres in south west Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond</span> Irish earl (died 1558)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald</span>

Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, of Shanid, was the eldest son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan by his wife, Alice. Thomas was the progenitor of the Geraldine House of Desmond, and brother of Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, progenitor of the Geraldine Houses of Kildare and Leinster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond</span> 16th-century Irish earl

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond, also counted 13th, was called Court Page as he grew up as a hostage for his grandfather Thomas FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, the Bald, at the court of Henry VIII. He should have succeeded this grandfather in 1534, but John FitzGerald, de facto 12th Earl of Desmond usurped the earldom and was followed in 1536 by his son James, fitz John. In 1539 the lord deputy of Ireland, Leonard Grey seized some Desmond land in southern County Cork and handed it to Court Page, who came to Ireland to claim his rights but was killed by Maurice fitz John FitzGerald, called Totane. He was succeeded by James fitz John, now rightful 13th earl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osborn Wyddel</span> 13th century Irish nobleman living in Gwynedd, Wales

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References

  1. Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III . London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 83
  2. Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire . London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
  3. 1 2 Pedigree of the family of Wynne, of Peniarth, William Watkin E. Wynne, Taylor & Co., London, 1872, p. 3-12
  4. Graves, James, and Samuel Heyman, editors. "Unpublished Geraldine Documents, The Whyte Knight." The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, vol. IV, pg 37. Dublin University Press, Ireland. 1885, p. 3-27-37
  5. Graves, James, and Samuel Heyman, editors. "Unpublished Geraldine Documents, The Whyte Knight." The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, vol. IV, pg 37. Dublin University Press, Ireland. 1885, p. 3-27
  6. 1 2 Curtis, Edmund. A History of Ireland, Routledge, 2005, ISBN   9781134466665, p. 75
  7. 1 2 Orpen, Goddard H. “The Fitz Geralds, Barons of Offaly.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 4, no. 2, 1914, pp. 99–113. JSTOR. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.
  8. Archaeologia Cambrensis, Index to 'Archaeologia Cambrensis', 1901-1960. Vol. 8. 1846. p. 405.
  9. Davies, W. Ll., (1959). OSBWRN WYDDEL (' Osborn the Irishman '), living in 1293 Irish nobleman and ancestor of landed families in Merioneth. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 8 Mar 2024
  10. Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography . Dublin: 1878.
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Baron Desmond
1st creation
until 1261
Succeeded by