Sir Edward J. Fitzgerald, 1st Baronet (24 November 1846 – 22 June 1927) was an Irish politician. He spent several decades as a member of

Cork Corporation Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, ...

and was the second

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. ...

Early life

Born in

Inchigeelagh Inchigeelagh () is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. The village is just outside a Gaeltacht area. Inchigeelagh is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West. The River Lee passes through the village. T ...

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 are ...

, Fitzgerald was the son of Daniel Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Corcoran. He was educated locally and worked as a carpenter, before moving to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

at the age of 24 where he established his own building firm.

Political career

Fitzgerald took an active part in municipal affairs and, after being elected to

in the 1880s, was also a member of the Cork Harbour Board, the Board of Guardians, and many social and political societies. He also filled the office of high sheriff. At the time of the

Parnell split Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

, he sided with the Anti-Parnellite majority, joining the

Irish National Federation The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles S ...

. Fitzgerald was elected

in 1901 and served two further consecutive terms. During his tenure he presided over the

Cork International Exhibition The International Exhibition (sometimes ''Cork International Exhibition'') was a world's fair held in Cork, Ireland, in 1902, 50 years after the first world's fair held in Ireland, which also took place in Cork. At the time of the exhibition, Ir ...

in 1902. As chairman of the executive committee, he travelled throughout

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 ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

collecting funds for the project. Such was the success of the exhibition that it was continued for a second year and attended by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

who conferred a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on Fitzgerald. After the exhibition, the grounds were converted into a public park, which was given the name

Fitzgerald's Park Fitzgerald's Park or Fitzgerald Park ( ga, Páirc Mhic Gearailt) is a public park in Cork city and the location of the Cork Public Museum. The park is located on the Mardyke and is a short distance from Cork city centre and University College ...

in his honour. Fitzgerald unsuccessfully contested the

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

constituency as an

Independent Nationalist Independent Nationalist ( ga, Náisiúnach Neamhspleách) is a political title frequently used by Irish Nationalism, Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the United Kingd ...

candidate at the January 1910 general election. He remained a member of Cork Corporation until the 1920s.

Personal life and death

Fitzgerald married Johanna O'Donoghue in January 1872. They had ten children, eight of whom survived into adulthood. Two of his sons,

Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

and

Bill Fitzgerald Bill Fitzgerald may refer to: * Bill Fitzgerald (hurler) William Fitzgerald (2 June 1892 - 17 December 1983) was an Irish hurler. At club level he played with Bride Valley and Éire Óg and was also a member of the Cork senior hurling team. Ca ...

, played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

with the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

. A third son, Fr. Edward Fitzgerald, was a member of the Cork County Board of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. After his retirement from public life, Fitzgerald lived in

Ovens upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

. He died at his residence on 22 June 1927, aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Edward, Sir, 1st Baronet 1846 births 1927 deaths Lord Mayors of Cork