Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare (died 11 February 1612) was an Irish peer. Much of his adult life was dominated by litigation with relatives over the Kildare inheritance.

Background

Lord Kildare was the son of Edward FitzGerald, younger son of

Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare Gerard FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare (1487 – 12 December 1534; Irish: ''Gearóid Óg Mac Gearailt'', meaning "Young Gerald FitzGerald"), was a leading figure in 16th-century Irish history. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildar ...

and his second wife Elizabeth Grey, a cousin of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Edward married Agnes Leigh, daughter of Sir John Leigh of

Stockwell Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. History The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...

, Surrey,thepeerage.com Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare
/ref> who was a half-brother of Queen

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...

, the fifth queen of

, both of them being children of Joyce Culpepper. Agnes was the widow of Sir Thomas Paston, of the famous

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

family who produced the

Paston Letters The ''Paston Letters'' are a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impo ...

Career

Lord Kildare was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1599 and succeeded his cousin William as

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

that same year. He served as Governor of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in 1600 and was Commissioner of

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

in 1604. The last decade of his life was much troubled by a long-running

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

brought against him by his cousin Lettice and her husband. Lettice, only child of the eldest son of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and his countess, Mabel Browne, had expected to inherit a substantial part of her grandfather's estate, but shortly before his death in 1585 she was disinherited by

deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...

. In 1602 she sued both Kildare and her aged grandmother, alleging that Countess Mabel had

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compression (physics), compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die (manufacturing), die. Forging is often classif ...

or fraudulently altered the deed and that Kildare as a result was unlawfully in occupation of her property. Kildare filed a countersuit alleging, rather implausibly, that the action was collusive and that Mabel and Lettice were conspiring to deprive him of his property. The case, which became quite celebrated, dragged on for years with hearings in several courts in both London and Dublin. Kildare complained bitterly of the disgrace to his honour and impoverishment of his estate, but was unable to bring proceedings to a resolution; the case continued even after both he and Mabel were dead.Crawford p.310

Family

Lord Kildare married his cousin Elizabeth Nugent, daughter of

Christopher Nugent Sir Christopher Nugent, 6th (or 14th) Baron Delvin (1544–1602) was an Irish nobleman and writer. He was arrested on suspicion of treason against Queen Elizabeth I of England, and died while in confinement before his trial had taken place. F ...

, 5th Baron Delvin and Lady Mary FitzGerald, daughter of the 11th Earl of Kildare.''Burke's Peerage'' 2003 Edition Vol.2 p.2299 She was still living in 1634, when she leased Kilkea Castle,

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 ...

, a long-standing FitzGerald residence, to the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

. He died suddenly at

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

in February 1612 after complaining of a "pain in his stomach" and was succeeded in the earldom by his infant son, Gerald, who died young in 1620.

References

External links

Library Ireland
Retrieved 21 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kildare, Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

1612 deaths 16th-century Irish nobility 17th-century Irish nobility People from County Kildare Year of birth unknown Earls of Kildare