James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond

For James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond, called "Court Page" (d. 1540), see James FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond.

For James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, captain general of Desmond, called "Archtraitor" (d. 1579), see James FitzMaurice.

James FitzGerald
Earl of Desmond
Tenure	1520–1529
Predecessor	Maurice, 9th Earl
Successor	Thomas, 11th Earl
Died	18 June 1529 Dingle
Buried	Tralee
Spouse(s)	Amy Mac-i-Brien Ara
Issue Detail	Joan (Amy)
Father	Maurice, 9th Earl
Mother	Ellen Roche

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond (died 1529), also counted as the 11th, plotted against King Henry VIII with King Francis I of France in 1523 and with Emperor Charles V in 1528 and 1529.

Birth and origins

James was born about 1490[a] in Munster, Ireland, second but only surviving son of Maurice FitzGerald and his first wife Ellen Roche.[2] His father was Earl of Desmond, counted the 9th or the 10th, and called "the Lame", "Vehiculus", and "Bellicosus". His father's family were the FitzGeralds of Desmond, a noble cadet branch of the FitzGeralds or Geraldines, which were Old English descending from Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan, who had come to Ireland with Strongbow in 1169. The FitzGeralds of Kildare were the senior branch of that family.

His mother was a daughter of Maurice Roche, 2nd Lord of Fermoy[3] and his first wife Joan FitzGerald.[4] His mother's family, the Roches also were Old English and descended from Adam de Rupe who had come to Ireland from Wales with Robert FitzStephen.[5]

James had an elder brother Thomas, who was heir apparent but predeceased his father.[6] He also had sisters.[7] All his sisters are listed in his father's article.

Family tree

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.[b] Thomas 7th Earl d. 1468 of Drogheda James 8th Earl 1459–1487 Maurice 9th Earl d. 1520 the Lame Thomas 11th Earl 1454–1534 the Bald John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 Piers 8th Earl 1467–1539 James 10th Earl d. 1529 Amy O'Brien Maurice fitz Thomas d. 1529 d.v.p.* James 13th Earl d. 1558 James Butler 9th Earl 1496–1546 Joan FitzGerald d. 1565 James 12th Earl d. 1540 Court Page Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl Thomas 10th Earl c. 1531 – 1614 Black Tom John of Kilcash d. 1570 Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls of Desmond XXX Earls of Ormond *d.v.p. = predeceased his father (decessit vita patris).

Marriage and children

James married Amy, daughter of Turlough O'Brien,[11][12] a pre-reformation bishop of Killaloe (died 1525 or 1526),[13][14] who had not stayed celibate.[15][c] Her mother's family were the O'Briens of Ara (County Tipperary), a cadet branch of the O'Briens, kings of Thomond.[17]

James and Amy had an only daughter:

1. Joan (Amy) (1509 or 1514 – 1565),[18][19] married 1st James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; 2ndly Francis Bryan, and 3rdly Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond[20]

James also had two illegitimate half-sisters from his father:

1. Honora (d. 1577), illegitimate
2. Ellice, illegitimate

Earldom and feuds with neighbours

FitzGerald's father seems to have already relied on him in the governing of the earldom in his later years. In 1520 his father died and was buried in the Dominican friary of Tralee, which had been founded in 1243 by his ancestor John fitz Thomas FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond.[21] FitzGerald succeeded his father as Earl of Desmond, counted as the 10th[2] or the 11th earl.[22]

In the 1520s Desmond, as he now was, fought his neighbours, the lords of Muskerry in County Cork and the earls of Ormond in eastern Munster. He also quarrelled with his uncle Thomas fitz Thomas FitzGerald, called "the Bald", who sided with his enemies. In September 1521 Desmond was defeated at the Battle of Mourne Abbey, south of Mallow, County Cork, by the allied forces of Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, 9th Lord of Muskerry, and Thomas the Bald.[23][24]

In December, Muskerry, Thomas the Bald, and Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, besieged him in Dungarvan.[25]

Francis I of France

During the Italian War of 1521–1526 that opposed England as an ally of the Habsburgs against France, Desmond conspired in 1522 with King Francis I of France against his liege, King Henry VIII,[26] recognizing Richard de la Pole as king of England[27] and discussing a possible French invasion of Ireland.[28] An attainder against Desmond was drafted in 1522 but never passed parliament.[29][30]

In 1525 the King sent Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy of Ireland, with an army to arrest Desmond for treason, but Desmond evaded capture.[31]

His enemy Henry VIII and his ally Charles V with Pope Leo X de' Medici

Charles Quint

By the Treaty of the More in 1525 Henry VIII ended the war with France and then in 1527 by the treaty of Westminster reversed the alliance, now fighting in the War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) as an ally of France against Charles V. Desmond reacted by also changing sides and allied himself with Emperor Charles V in 1528[32] and 1529[33] The Emperor sent his chaplain Gonzalo Fernandez to see Desmond at Dingle.[34] The chaplain reported that the earl was between 30 and 40 years old.[1]

Death and timeline

Desmond died unexpectedly on 18 June 1529 at Rathkeale[35] or at Dingle. He was buried with his father at Tralee,[36] His death without a male heir provoked a succession crisis. His daughter was heir general but his uncle Thomas, called the Bald, succeeded as 11th Earl of Desmond. His widow married Edmond Fitzmaurice, 9th Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw as his second wife and died in 1537.[37][38]

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1493, estimate	Born[a]
20–21	1514	Daughter Joan born.[18]
1–2	1495	Father besieges Waterford trying to impose Perkin Warbeck as Yorkist king but fails.
15–16	1509, 22 Apr	Accession of Henry VIII, succeeding Henry VII of England[39]
26–27	1521, Sep	Lost the Battle of Mourne to Cormac Laidir Oge MacCarthy, 10th Lord of Muskerry[23]
28–29	1522	Plotted with King Francis I of France[26]
31–32	1525	Avoided arrest by Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare[31]
35–36	1529	Plotted with Emperor Charles V[33]
35–36	1529, 18 Jun	Died.[35] His uncle Thomas FitzGerald succeeded as 11th Earl of Desmond.

Ancestors of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond
Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond Eleanor Butler Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond Mary de Burgh Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond William Barry, 8th Baron Barry Ellice de Barry Ellen Roche James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond David Roche 1st Lord of Fermoy Maurice Roche, 2nd Lord Fermoy Joanna de Burgo Ellen Roche Joan FitzGerald

Notes and references

Notes

1. The subject of the article was between 30 and 40 years old in 1629.[1]
2. This family tree is based on a graphic tree[8] an on written genealogies of the earls of Desmond[9] and Ormond.[10]
3. Joan's maternal grandfather must not be confused with his son, also called Turlough O'Brien, who was bishop of Killaloe 1554–1569, appointed during Queen Mary's reign.[16]

Citations

1. Wilson 1912, p. 57. "The Earl himself is from thirty to forty years old, and is rather above the middle height."
2. Cokayne 1916, p. 249, line 5. "10. James FitzMaurice (FitzGerald), Earl of Desmoind [I. [Ireland] ], only surv. s. [surviving son] and h. [heir]."
3. Cokayne 1926, p. 297. "2. Maurice (Roche) Lord Roche of Fermoy [I. [Ireland] ], s. [son] and h. [heir]."
4. Burke 1866, p. 454, right column. "In 1487 he [Maurice Roche] m. [married] Joan, dau. [daughter] of James 9th Earl of Desmond, and by her had David, his heir; and Ellen, m. to Maurice, 10th Earl of Desmond"
5. Burke 1866, p. 454. "The family of Roche was established in Ireland by Adam de Rupe of Roch Castle, co. Pembrokeshire, who accompanied Robert FitzStephen to that country in 1196."
6. Burke 1866, p. 205, left column, line 46. "I. Thomas FitzMaurice, who d. v. p. [predeceased his father], leaving a dau. [daughter] and h. [heir] who m. [married] to H. Butler of Polestown."
7. Burke 1866, p. 205, left column, line 49.
8. Moody, Martin & Byrne 1984, p. 168. "Fitzgeralds Earls od Desmond ..."
9. Burke 1866, pp. 205–206Genealogy of the earls of Desmond
10. Burke & Burke 1915, pp. 1548–1552Genealogy of the earls of Ormond
11. Burke 1866, p. 205, left column, line 53. "James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, who m. [married] Amy, dau. [daughter] of Turlogh Mac I.Brien Ara, bishop of Killaloe ..."
12. Cokayne 1916, p. 249, line 10. "He [James FitzGerald] m. [married] Amy, da. [daughter] of Turlogh Mac-1-Brien-Ara, Bishop of Killaloe."
13. Beresford 2009, only paragraph, last sentence. "... from his marriage to the daughter of Toirdhealbhach Ó Briain (d. 1525), bishop of Killaloe ..."
14. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 361, line 30. "Toirdhealbagh mac Mathghamhna Ó Briain (Theodoricus Thaddaeus) / prov. [provided] 19 Sept. 1483 / a. [ante] August 1526"
15. Ellis 2014, p. 195. "... was the son of bishop Turlough O'Brien of Killaloe (1483–1526) but this prompts two further observations. Clerical celibacy was widely ignored ..."
16. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 396. "Turlough (Terence) O'Brien / prov. [provided] June 1554 / 1569"
17. O'Brien 1949, p. 181. "Brian Ruahd, forty-first king of Thomond was the progenitor of this [Ara] line."
18. Eckerle & McAreavey 2019, p. 270, above. "Lady Joan Fitzgerald, Countess of Ormonde, Ossory, and Desmond (1509?–65) The daughter of the Eleventh Earl of Desmond and the wife of three powerful men ..."
19. Holland 1996, abstract, line 4. "... Joan FitzGerald, countess of Desmond and Ormond (c. 1514 – 1565)."
20. Webb 1878, p. 129, right column. "He had but one legitimate child, Amy, who married, (1) 9th Earl of Ormond, (2) Sir Francis Bryan, Lord-Justice, (3) Gerald, 15th Earl of Desmond."
21. Coleman 1902, p. 109. "In County Kerry is a seaport called Tralee, where a Dominican abbey was founded in 1243, by John the son of Thomas Fitzgerald ..."
22. Webb 1878, p. 139, left column, line 34. "Desmond, James, 11th Earl, succeeded on his father's death in 1520."
23. Burke 1866, p. 344, left column. "He [Muskerry] defeated the Earl of Desmond in the battle of Cluhar and Morne Abbey, in 1521."
24. McGee 1863, p. 344. "Cormac Oge, lord of Muskerry, and his cousin, the lord of Carbery, defeated the XIth Earl (James), at Moore Abbey, in 1521, with a loss of 1,500 foot and 5 or 600 horsemen."
25. McCormack 2009, 1st paragraph. "... in December Thomas, again with the help of Cormac Óg Láidir, joined with Piers Butler, earl of Ossory, in besieging him in Dungarvan, co. Waterford."
26. Cokayne 1916, p. 249, line 6. "He corresponded treasonably with Francis I of France in 1522 ..."
27. Loades 2009, p. 186. "... the Earl of Desmond, complicated the issue further by entering into direct negotiations with Francis I during the second Anglo-French war, and by recognizing Richard de la Pole as king of England"
28. Joyce 1903, p. 126. "Kildare was now directed by the king to arrest the earl of Desmond, who had been holding correspondence with the king of France about an invasion of Ireland."
29. Beresford 2009, only paragraph, 12th sentence.. "An act of attainder had been drawn up against him as early as 1522, but no parliament met to enact it during his lifetime."
30. Wilson 1912, p. 95. "... a bill for the attainder of James, Earl of Desmond, for treason in entertaining "the Lord Kendall" [the Comte de Candalle] and other Frenchmen, and in corresponding with Francis I."
31. FitzGerald 1858, p. 100. "In that year, 1525, the King sent letters to the Earl, ordering him to arrest the Earl of Desmond, who was accused of high treason."
32. Beckett 1973, p. 41. "... in 1528 he was negotiating with Henry's new enemy, the Emperor Charles V."
33. Webb 1878, p. 139, right column. "In 1529 he proffered fealty to the Emperor Charles V., and declared himself willing to enter into a league against England."
34. Wilson 1912, p. 56. "... had landed at Cork, and been hospitably entertained by the Earl and his retainers at 1529 Dingle ..."
35. Beresford 2009, only paragraph, penultimate sentence. "Desmond died suddenly on 18 June 1529 at Rathkeale."
36. Webb 1878, p. 139, right column, line 17. "He died at Dingle, 18th June 1529, and was buried with his father at Tralee."
37. Cokayne 1929, p. 207. "He [Edmond FitzMaurice] m. [married] 2ndly Amy, widow of James FitzMaurice (FitzGerald), 10th Earl of Desmond ..."
38. Cokayne 1916, p. 249, line 12. "His widow m. [married], as 2nd wife, Edmond (Fitzmaurice), Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw. She d. [died] before 1537."
39. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 42, line 39. "Henry VIII … acc. 22 April 1509;"

Sources

• Beckett, James Camlin (1973) [1952]. A Short History of Ireland (5th ed.). London: Hutchinson & Co. ISBN 0-09-118870-9.
• Beresford, David (October 2009). McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). "FitzGerald, James fitz Maurice". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
• Burke, Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 11501348. (for Desmond and Fermoy)
• Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1915). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (77th ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 1155471554.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1916). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. IV (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Dacre to Dysart (for Desmond)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1926). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. V (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat (for Fermoy)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1929). Doubleday, H. A. (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. VII (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. – Hussey to Lincolnshire (for Kerry)
• Coleman, Ambrose (1902). The Ancient Dominican Foundations of Ireland; an Appendix to O'Heyn's "Epilogus Chronologicus". Dundalk: William Tempest.
• Eckerle, Julie A.; McAreavey, Naomi, eds. (2019). Women's Life Writing and Early Modern Ireland. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-9997-9. – (Preview)
• Ellis, Steven G. (2014). Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447–1603 (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-90143-3. – (Preview)
• FitzGerald, Charles William (1858). The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors: from 1057 to 1773 (2nd ed.). Dublin: Hodges Smith & Co. OCLC 697725153.
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
• Holland, Karen Ann (1996). Joan Desmond, Ormond, and Ossory: The world of a countess in sixteenth-century Ireland (Ph.D.). Providence, RI: Providence College. – Online abstract
• Joyce, Patrick Weston (1903). A Concise History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1837 (12th ed.). Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. OCLC 815623752.
• Loades, David Michael (2009). Henry VIII: Court, church and conflict. Kew: National Archives. ISBN 978-1-905615-42-1.
• McCormack, Anthony M. (October 2009). McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). "FitzGerald, Thomas". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 5 December 2021. – "The bald", earl of Desmond
• McGee, Thomas d'Arcy (1863). A Popular History of Ireland: From the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics. Vol. I. New York: D. & J. Sadlier. – Earliest times to 1568
• Moody, Theodore William; Martin, F. X.; Byrne, Francis John, eds. (1984). A New History of Ireland. Vol. IX:Maps, Genealogies, Lists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-821745-5.
• O'Brien, Donough (1949). History of the O'Briens from Boroimhe. Batsford: self-published. OCLC 1157152182.
• Webb, Alfred (1878). "FitzGerald, James, 11th Earl of Desmond". Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. p. 139, left column. OCLC 122693688.
• Wilson, Philip (1912). The Beginnings of Modern Ireland. Dublin: Maunsel and Company Ltd. OCLC 1041051033.

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald	Earl of Desmond 1520–1529	Succeeded by Thomas fitz Thomas FitzGerald