Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 19.djvu/124

Fitzgerald , 1586 ; Obits of Christ Church, Dublin, 1844; Papers of Richard III, 1861 ; Earls of Kildare, 1862; Hist. of Viceroys of Ireland, 1865 ; Report of Hist. MSS. Commission, 1883.]  FITZGERALD, GERALD, ninth (1487–1534), son of Gerald Fitzgerald, eighth earl [q. v.], by his first wife, Alison Eustace, daughter and coheiress of Rowland, baron of Portlester, was born in 1487. Sent into England in 1493 as a pledge of his father's loyalty, his youth was spent at court, where he was treated as befitted his rank. In 1503 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Zouche of Codnor in Derbyshire, 'a woman of rare probity of mind and every way commendable.' Shortly after his marriage he was allowed to return to Ireland, and on 28 Feb. 1504 was appointed lord high treasurer. In the same year he accompanied his father, the lord deputy, on an expedition against Mac William of Clanricarde and O'Brien of Thomond. In the battle of Knockdoe on 19 Aug. he commanded the reserve, but 'seeing the battle joining, could not stand still to wait his time as was appointed,' and by his indiscreet valour allowed the Irish horse to capture the baggage train, together with a number of English gentlemen (Annals of the Four Masters, ed. O'Donovan, v. 1277 ; Book of Howth, p. 185 ;, Galway, p. 76). The account in the 'Book of Howth' must be received with caution ; Ware prudently remarks regarding Mac William and O'Brien : 'De particulari eorum machinatione non possum aliquid pro certo affirmare' (Annales, p. 71). In May 1508 he was again in England, but for what purpose is not clear ( Annales, p. 115). On 9 Nov. 1610 he obtained from Henry VIII a grant during pleasure, afterwards confirmed in tail male, of the manor of Ardmolghan, co. Meath. His father dying on 30 Sept. 1513, he was elected lord justice by the council pending his appointment as lord deputy. In the following year he undertook an expedition against the O'Moores and O'Reillies, and having slain Hugh O'Reilly he returned to Dublin laden with plunder. For this and other services done against the 'wild Irish' he was rewarded with the customs and dues of the ports of Strangford and Ardglass. As yet nothing had happened to mar the friendly relations between him and his brother-in-law, Piers Butler. In 1514 he presented Sir Piers with a chief horse, a grey hackney, and a haubergeon, and about the same time united with him to frame regulations for the government of the counties of Kilkenny and Tipperary. In June 1515 he crossed over into England to confer with the king about the affairs of the kingdom, and in October he was authorised to summon a parliament, which met in January 1516. At the same time (October 1515) he was, by license of the king, permitted to carry into execution a scheme, originated by his father, for the foundation and endowment of a college in honour of the Virgin at Maynooth, co. Kildare, which, however, was shortly afterwards suppressed with other religious houses in 1538. In 1516 he conducted an expedition against the O'Tooles, who by their constant depredations considerably annoyed the citizens of Dublin. Marching west he next invaded Ely O'Carroll, where he was joined by several noblemen of Munster and Leinster, including Piers, earl of Ormonde, and James, eldest son of the Earl of Desmond. Having captured and razed the castle of Lemyvannan (Leim-Ui-Bhanain, i.e. O'Banan's leap) he marched rapidly on Clonmel, which having surrendered on conditions he returned to Dublin in December 'laden with booty, hostages, and honour.' In March 1517 he held a parliament at Dublin, after which he invaded Lecale, where he stormed and recaptured the castle of Dundrum. Thence he marched against Phelim Magennis, whom he defeated and took prisoner, and having captured the castle of Dungannon and laid waste Tyrone, 'he reduced Ireland to a quiet condition.' Shortly after his return, in October, his wife, whom he dearly loved, died at Lucan, and was by him buried with great pomp near his mother in the monastery of the Friars Observant at Kilcullen, co. Kildare. Hitherto there had been no question made of his loyalty. In 1515, however, Sir Piers Butler [q. v.] succeeded to the earldom of Ormonde, and shortly afterwards the old hereditary feud between the two houses broke out with redoubled violence. (There is a judicious account of this quarrel in the 'History of St. Canice's Cathedral.' Mr. Froude's narrative is distorted by his extreme partiality for Ormonde. On the other hand, the story in Stanihurst, manifestly derived from Geraldine sources, must be received with caution. One noticeable feature is the vehement animosity of the Countess of Ormonde towards her brother.) At the instigation of Ormonde a charge of maladministration was preferred against him in 1518, and early in the following year he sailed for England. The investigation of the charges against him was committed to Wolsey, but Wolsey, either from policy or pressure of other business, continually postponed the inquiry. In 1520 Kildare married the Lady Elizabeth Grey, fourth daughter of Thomas, marquis of Dorset, granddaughter of Elizabeth Woodville, queen of Edward IV