Birth name | Maurice George Hollis FitzGerald | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 14 February 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | The Hague, The Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Ampleforth College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Durham University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Maurice George Hollis FitzGerald [1] (born 14 February 1976), known professionally as Maurice Fitzgerald, is an English former rugby union player.
Fitzgerald, who spent the majority of his club career in France, was part of the championship winning Biarritz side of the 2001/02 season.
Born in The Hague, Fitzgerald attended Ampleforth College and graduated from Durham University in 1998 with a degree in Modern Languages. [2]
Fitzgerald joined Richmond F.C. following university. In 1999 the club went into administration; Fitzgerald moved to Biarritz, where he had previously spent a year abroad as a student. [3]
In 2003 Fitzgerald was called up to England A for the first time after strong performances in the Heineken Cup and French Championship. [4] [5] He signed for Harlequins for the 2004/05 season and made his debut as a substitute on 27 September 2004 against Worcester, but featured in only a handful of league and cup matches during his final year as a professional. [6]
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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.
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