There have been two creations of the title Baron Offaly, both in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. Two earlier medieval creations as Baron of Offaly existed for an earlier

FitzGerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

, who owned land in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, including what was then "Offelan", a word that derived from the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Uí Faelain'' and not from what is now

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. The original grant of the lordship of Offelan was in 1175 to Maurice FitzGerald, one of Strongbow's main supporters. In 1538–50 the title was recreated for Brian O Conor Faly, who was based in neighbouring

. The first modern creation by

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

was for Gerald FitzGerald on 13 May 1554, who was also created

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

at the same time and later restored to the senior earldom of Kildare (forfeit by his half-brother,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

) in 1569. The title (as well as the second creation of the earldom), became extinct in 1599 when the 13th earl's branch of the family became extinct and the senior earldom passed to his cousin,

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

. The second creation of the title was for Lettice Digby on 29 July 1620. She was the daughter of

Gerald FitzGerald, Lord Offally Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

(1559–1580; the eldest son of the 11th earl, who predeceased his father) and the wife of Sir Robert Digby. Her eldest son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, was created

Baron Digby Baron Digby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of Great Britain, for members of the same family. Robert Digby, Governor of King's County, was created Baron Digby, of Geashill in the ...

on the same day. The patent of the barony stipulated that it was not to pass to Lord Digby, but instead to the head of the House of Kildare, who, at the time of Baroness Offaly's death in 1658, was

George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (23 January 1612 – 29 May 1660) was known as the "Fairy Earl", apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, which is extant, was painted on a small scale." Biography FitzGerald was the son of T ...

. The 20th earl was later created

Duke of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...

in 1766 and the dukedom and barony remain united.

FitzGerald Barons of Offaly

Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly Gerald FitzMaurice, jure uxoris 1st Lord of Offaly ( – 15 January 1204) 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 ...

( – ) *

Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly Maurice Fitzmaurice FitzGerald I, 2nd Lord of Offaly (c.1184 – 20 May 1257) was a Norman in Ireland peer, soldier, and Justiciar of Ireland from 1232 to 1245. He mustered many armies against the Irish, and due to his harsh methods as Justicia ...

(1190–1257) *

Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

(1238–1286) * John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Lord of Offaly (1287-1316). ''for further Barons of Offaly, see

O'Conor Faly Barons of Offaly

*Brian O'Conor Faly (1525–1556) (In Irish, ''Brian mac Cathaoir Ó Conchobhair Failghe'') attainted in 1550

Barons Offaly, first creation (1554–1599)

* Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, 1st Baron Offaly (1525–1585) * Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare, 2nd Baron Offaly (1562–1597) * William FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Kildare, 3rd Baron Offaly (died 1599)

Barons Offaly, second creation (1620–present)

Lettice Digby, 1st Baroness Offaly Lettice FitzGerald, 1st Baroness Offaly (c. 1580 – 1 December 1658) was an Irish noblewoman and a member of the FitzGerald dynasty. Although she became heiress-general to the Earls of Kildare on the death of her father, the title instead ...

(–1658) * George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare, 2nd Baron Offaly (1612–1660) ''for further Barons Offaly, see

References

' {{DEFAULTSORT:Offaly 1554 establishments in Ireland 1599 disestablishments in Ireland 1620 establishments in Ireland Baronies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1620 Extinct baronies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1554

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

FitzGerald Barons of Offaly

O'Conor Faly Barons of Offaly

Barons Offaly, first creation (1554–1599)

Barons Offaly, second creation (1620–present)

See also

References