John Fitzedmund Fitzgerald (died 1589) was the hereditary

Seneschal of Imokilly The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

, an Irish nobleman of the Welsh-Norman

FitzGerald dynasty 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 ...

in the province of Munster, who rebelled against the crown during the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. Fitzgerald was the son of Edmund Fitzmaurice Riskald and Shylie, daughter of Sir Maolrony McShane O'Carroll, lord of Ely

O'Carroll O'Carroll ( ga, Ó Cearbhaill), also known as simply Carroll, Carrol or Carrell, is a Gaelic Irish clan which is the most prominent sept of the Ciannachta (also known as Clan Cian). Their genealogies claim that they are kindred with the Eógan ...

Éile Éile (; sga, Éle, ), commonly anglicised as Ely, was a medieval petty kingdom in the southern part of the modern county of Offaly and parts of North Tipperary in Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was once a significant portion of the ki ...

),James FITZGERALD (14th E. Desmond) by www.tudorplace.com.ar
/ref> and the family's territory was in modern

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

First Desmond Rebellion

During the first of the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the Fitzmaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines an ...

in 1569, Fitzgerald was besieged in Ballymartyr by the lord deputy of Ireland, Sir

Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he receive ...

, and having taken casualties he fled with his company through a bog which was hard by the walls of the town. He held out with his fellow rebel,

James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald James fitz Maurice FitzGerald (died 1579), called "fitz Maurice", was captain-general of Desmond while Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, was detained in England by Queen Elizabeth after the Battle of Affane in 1565. He led the first Des ...

in the woods of Aherlow till February 1573, when he submitted with Fitzmaurice to the

President of Munster The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munst ...

, Sir

John Perrot Sir John Perrot (7 November 1528 – 3 November 1592) served as lord deputy to Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. It was formerly speculated that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII, though the idea is reje ...

, and was granted his pardon in the church of

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...

. In March 1575 he accompanied Fitzmaurice and the White Knight,

Edmund Fitzgibbon Edmund Fitzgibbon, 11th White Knight (c. 1552 – 23 April 1608), was an Irish nobleman of the FitzGerald dynasty, who held a Hiberno-Norman hereditary knighthood. His loyalty to Elizabeth I resulted in the capture of his kinsman, the self-dec ...

, on the ''La Arganys'' to

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, where they were received by the governor; he returned in July of the same year. On 16 November 1576 he complained to Lord Justice Sir

William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamsh ...

that

Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond ( – 1583), also counted as 15th or 16th, owned large part of the Irish province of Munster. In 1565 he fought the private Battle of Affane against his neighbours, the Butlers. After this, he was for so ...

, was coshering 60 horse and 100 horseboys on his territory.

Second Desmond Rebellion

On Fitzmaurice's landing in July 1579 at the start of the

Second Desmond Rebellion The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions in Ireland launched by the FitzGerald Dynasty of Desmond in Munster against English rule. The second rebellion began in July 1579 whe ...

, Fitzgerald went into rebellion instantly. After Fitzmaurice's untimely death he, rather than Desmond, became the real leader of the rebellion, receiving the brunt of the crown's offensive under the command of Sir Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde. It was often reported that he had been killed, but he survived many engagements, despite a severe wound and the death of his brother. In February 1581 he almost captured Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...

. In May 1583, as the rebellion petered out, his mother was executed by Ormond. On 14 June he submitted on conditions, having only 24 sword and 4 horse left at his command. Ormond respected his bravery and pleaded with the queen's secretary, Sir William Cecil, for his pardon. His lands became a serious controversy in the subsequent plantation of Munster, and he was considered a main route for Spanish intelligence. In March 1587 he was arrested by

Sir Thomas Norris Sir Thomas Norris (1556–1599) was an English soldier. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, and was made Lord President of Munster in Ireland. His last name is sometimes spelt Norreys. Family He was the fifth son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron ...

and confined in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...

, where he died in February 1589, a few days after it had been decided that he should enjoy the profit of his lands.

Legacy

Fitzgerald married

Honora Fitzmaurice Honora may refer to: * ''Honora'' (moth), a genus of snout moths * Honora, Ontario, a community in Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, Canada People with the given name * Honora Burke (c. 1675 – 1698), Irish aristocrat * Honora Denny ...

, who bore him male twins in about 1589, and two daughters. His heir was granted in wardship, at the age of one and a half years, to one Captain Moyle.

Notes

References

Richard Bagwell Richard Bagwell (9 December 1840 – 4 December 1918) was a noted historian of the Stuart and Tudor periods in Ireland, and a political commentator with strong Unionist convictions. He was the eldest son of John Bagwell, M.P. for Clonmel fro ...

, ''Ireland under the Tudors'' (3 yols., London, 1885-1890) *''Calendar of State Papers: Carew MSS.'' i., ii., (6 vols., 1867-1873). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, John Fitzedmund 1589 deaths 16th-century Irish people Irish lords

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

People from County Cork People of Elizabethan Ireland Year of birth unknown People of the Second Desmond Rebellion