Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Charles James FitzGerald, 1st Baron Lecale (30 June 1756 – 18 February 1810), styled Lord Charles FitzGerald between 1761 and 1800, was an Irish naval commander and politician.

Background

FitzGerald was the third son of

James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster Lieutenant-General James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, PC (Ire) (29 May 1722 – 19 November 1773), styled Lord Offaly until 1743 and known as The Earl of Kildare between 1743 and 1761 and as The Marquess of Kildare between 1761 and 17 ...

, and Lady Emily, daughter of

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richm ...

and the second of the famous

Lennox Sisters The Lennox sisters were four eighteenth-century British aristocrats, the daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1701–1750) by his wife Lady Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, Sarah Cadogan (1705–1751). The four sisters ...

. He was the brother of

William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster William Robert FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, KP, PC (Ire) (12/13 March 1749 – 20 October 1804) was an Irish liberal politician and landowner. He was born in London. Career FitzGerald made his Grand Tour between 1768 and 1769. During t ...

Lord Henry FitzGerald Lord Henry FitzGerald PC (Ire) (30 July 1761 – 9 July 1829) was the fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster and the Duchess of Leinster (née Lady Emily Lennox). A younger brother was the revolutionary Lord Edward FitzGerald. Life Fitzgeral ...

and

Lord Edward FitzGerald Lord Edward FitzGerald (15 October 1763 – 4 June 1798) was an Irish aristocrat and revolutionary proponent of Irish independence from Britain. He abandoned his prospects as a distinguished veteran of British service in the American War of Ind ...

. Through his mother he was a great-great-grandson of King Charles II. There were 19 children in his family. His sister Lady Charlotte FitzGerald took the title of Baroness Rayleigh in 1821. His brother Lord Edward FitzGerald is known as the famous Irish revolutionary. One of his numerous brothers was Lord Robert Stephen FitzGerald who is known to be a British diplomat in Switzerland 1792–1795.

Political and naval career

FitzGerald sat as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 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, ...

for

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, 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 gove ...

from 1776 to 1790, for Cavan Borough from 1790 to 1798 and for

Ardfert Ardfert () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only from Tralee. T ...

from 1798 to the Act of Union in 1801. He served as High Sheriff of Down in 1783, a Commissioner of Customs between 1789 and 1792 and as Muster-Master-General of Ireland between 1792 and 1806. He also served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1777, and his first command was the cutter in 1779. He sailed her to

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

, where she was wrecked in March 1780, though without loss of life. He was made

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

on 23 May 1780. Thereafter he was captain of a number of frigates. He participated in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

in 1781. He was made a

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 1790. On 27 December 1800, he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Lecale, of

Ardglass Ardglass () is a coastal fishing village, townland (of 321 acres) and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the historic barony of Lecale Lower. It is still a relatively important fishing harbour. It is situated on the B1 Ardglas ...

in the County of Down. He briefly represented

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between January and April 1807.

Family

Lord Lecale was twice married, the second time in London on 18 July 1808 to former Mrs. Julia Carton (died Courtlands,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, 6 May 1844), without issue. His only children, both illegitimate, were Henry FitzGerald, who died at sea, off

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

, on 14 September 1803, and Anna Maria FitzGerald. Lecale converted 15th century warehouses in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

into a castellated house, known as Ardglass Castle, at the end of the 18th century. The castle is now the home of Ardglass Golf Club. He died in the Castle in February 1810, aged 53, when the barony became extinct. Lord Lecale's tomb is located in Bright parish church, which bears a memorial plate in his name.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Charles

Lecale Lecale (, ) is a peninsula in the east of County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies between Strangford Lough and Dundrum Bay. In the Middle Ages it was a district or ''túath'' in the Gaelic Irish kingdom of Ulaid, then became a county in the An ...

Military personnel from County Kildare

High sheriffs of Down 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 English constituencies UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs who were granted peerages Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Younger sons of dukes

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Irish officers in the Royal Navy

Politicians from County Kildare 19th-century Irish politicians Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cavan constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kerry constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies Place of birth missing