James Fitzgerald (1742–1835), was an Irish politician, descended from the family of the White Knight. He was the younger son of William Fitzgerald, an attorney of

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, and brother of Maurice Fitzgerald, Clerk of the Crown for Connaught.

Early career

He was born in 1742, and educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. In 1769 he was called to the Irish Bar, and he soon obtained a large practice, and won a great reputation both as a sound lawyer and an eloquent pleader. In 1776 he entered the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

as member for Fore, a seat which he held until 1783. In 1783 he was elected both for Killybegs and Tulsk in

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

, and preferred to sit for the latter borough; in 1784 and 1790 he was re-elected for Tulsk, and in 1798 he was chosen to represent Kildare Borough in the last Irish Parliament. His eloquence soon made him as great a reputation in the Irish parliament as at the Irish bar, and he was recognised as one of the leading orators in the days of Grattan and

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

. Though an eloquent speaker, Fitzgerald was not much of a statesman. He supported all the motions of the

radical parties Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

, and in 1782 he made his most famous speech in proposing a certain measure of Catholic relief. In that year he married Catherine, younger daughter of the Rev. Henry Vesey, who was a grandson of John Vesey,

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...

(ancestor of the Viscounts de Vesci), and cousin of Lord Glentworth.

Promotions and last offices

Fitzgerald never sought political office, but he eagerly accepted professional appointments, which helped him at the bar. He thus became in rapid succession Third Serjeant of Ireland in 1779, Second Serjeant in 1784, and Prime Serjeant in 1787. In all the debates which preceded the final abolition of the independent Irish parliament, Fitzgerald distinguished himself. He opposed the project of the Union with all his might, and he was certainly disadvantaged in his cause, for in 1799 he was dismissed from his post of Prime Serjeant to make way for St George Daly, who had been converted to the Unionist policy. The Irish bar insisted on showing their respect for him, and continued to give him precedence in court over the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and Solicitor-General which he had held as Prime Serjeant. When the Union Acts were carried, Fitzgerald accepted it, and he sat in Parliament for

from 1802 to February 1808, when he resigned the seat to his son, William Vesey Fitzgerald. He was re-elected in 1812, but resigned his seat in January 1813, and retired from politics. James Fitzgerald died at

Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin ...

, near Dublin, on 20 January 1835, aged 93; the baroness had predeceased him on 3 January 1832. His youngest son, Henry Vesey-Fitzgerald, was Dean of Emly (1818–26), and Dean of Kilmore from 1826 till his death, on 30 March 1860. He succeeded his eldest brother as third Lord Fitzgerald and Vesey in 1843.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, James 1742 births 1835 deaths 18th-century Irish politicians 19th-century Irish politicians Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Clare constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 People from Ennis Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Westmeath constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Lawyers from County Clare 18th-century Irish lawyers 19th-century Irish lawyers