Colonel Richard Fitzgerald (by 1733 – 1776) was an Irish

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. He was the fifth son of Gerald Fitzgerald of Coolanawle, Queen's County, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Hartpole, of Shrule Castle in Queen's County. He lived at Kilminchy Castle,

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

, and Mount Offaly,

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, ...

. He was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

on 21 October 1763 and sat until his death. He married firstly, Margaret, daughter of

James King, 4th Baron Kingston James King, 4th Baron Kingston (1693 – 26 December 1761) was a British member of the peerage. King was a prominent freemason, being the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England for 1728–1730 and also Grand Master of the Grand Lodge ...

, of

Mitchelstown Castle Mitchelstown Castle, the former home of the Anglo Irish Earls of Kingston, was located in the north County Cork town of Mitchelstown in Ireland. 15th to 18th century ''White Knights, Dark Earls'' is to date the most extensive published accoun ...

and his first wife Elizabeth Meade, daughter of

Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet (1642–1707) was an Irish barrister, judge and politician. He was the first of the Meade Baronets of Balintubber, and an ancestor of the Earls of Clanwilliam. He was unusual among the lawyers of his time for his lack of ...

. They had one daughter Caroline, who married Robert King, Lord Kingsborough. He married, secondly, Mary, daughter and heiress of Fairfax Mercer, of Fair Hill,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. Their son Gerald was the father of the New Zealand politician James FitzGerald and Gerard George Fitzgerald. In 1776 Fitzgerald was shot in a duel with his daughter's father-in-law,

Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston PC (I) (29 March 1726 – 8 November 1797) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry King, 3rd Baronet and Isabella Wingfield, daughter of Edward Wingfield. He had a twin siste ...

. His son-in-law

Lord Kingsborough Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough (16 November 1795 – 27 February 1837) was an Irish antiquarian who sought to prove that the indigenous peoples of the Americas were a Lost Tribe of Israel. His principal contribution was in making availab ...

succeeded him as M.P. for Boyle.

References

Irish knights

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

Year of birth uncertain 1733 births 1776 deaths People from Portlaoise Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Duelling fatalities Deaths by firearm in Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub