John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond (died

1261 Year 1261 ( MCCLXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 13 – Treaty of Nymphaeum: Emperor Michael VIII (Palaiologos) sig ...

) was the son of Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello by his wife Ellinor, daughter of Jordan de Marisco, and sister of Geoffrey de Marisco, who was appointed justiciar of Ireland in 1215. Cokayne, George Edward,
Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III
'. London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 83 Burke, Bernard,
A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire
'. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204 He was the grandson of

Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Maynooth, Naas, and Llanstephan (born: almost certainly not at Windsor Castle, more likely Carew in Wales c.1105 – September c.1176 Wexford, Ireland. He was a medieval Anglo-Norman baron and a major figure in the ...

. Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello was the founder of the

Desmond Desmond or Desmond's may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Desmond'' (novel), 1792 novel by Charlotte Turner Smith * '' Desmond's'', 1990s British television sitcom Ireland * Kingdom of Desmond, medieval Irish kingdom * Earl of Desmond, Iris ...

line of the FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty and ancestor of the powerful

Earls of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates, ...

(now extinct), as well as other dynasties, including the modern Green Knights of Kerry and former Black Knights of Glin. The other extinct Desmond Geraldines are the Lords of Decies and the White Knights. In 1259, FitzThomas received a royal grant of Desmond and west Waterford

in fee A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

. Fineen MacCarthy, son of

Donal Gott MacCarthy Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of th ...

and King of Desmond gathered his troops to oppose this.Curtis, Edmund. ''A History of Ireland'', Routledge, 2005
, p. 75 MacCarthy's forces included the

O'Sullivan O'Sullivan ( ga, Ó Súilleabháin, Súileabhánach) is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. The surname is associated with the southwestern part of Ireland, and was originally found in Coun ...

s, whom the Norman incursions into Munster in the 1180s had forced from their original homeland in County Tipperary. They became the chief princes underneath their close kinsmen the MacCarthys. MacCarthy was also joined by the O'Donoghue, also related. In July 1261 the three Gaelic clans joined to face the Normans at the

Battle of Callann The Battle of Callann was fought in August 1261 between the Hiberno-Normans, under John FitzGerald, and three Gaelic clans: MacCarthy, who held the Kingdom of Desmond, under Fínghin Mac Carthaigh, King of Desmond, ancestor of the MacC ...

and won a complete victory. Both John FitzGerald and his son, Maurice FitzJohn, died in the fighting. John FitzGerald was succeeded by his grandson, Maurice's son Thomas FitzMaurice, 2nd Baron Desmond. The FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne, but they descend from the 1st Baron Desmond's nephew, Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, son of his brother Maurice FitzThomas. Thus in fact they represent a "sister" branch to the FitzGeralds of Desmond. However this technically makes them slightly closer to the FitzGeralds of Desmond than either are to the Offaly-Kildare-Leinster Geraldines, represented by the modern Dukes of Leinster, who descend from

Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly Gerald FitzMaurice, jure uxoris 1st Lord of Offaly ( – 15 January 1204) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman who took part with his father, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan, in the Norman Invasion of Ireland (1169–71). Together with his five ...

, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond.

Marriages and issue

John was the father of Maurice FitzJohn, who died with him at the Battle of Callan. John was succeeded in his baronial title by Maurice's son, Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond.

References

External links

The Battle of Callan, A.D. 1261
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, John Fitzgerald, 1st Baron 1261 deaths Normans in Ireland John People from County Cork 13th-century Irish people Year of birth unknown Barons in the Peerage of Ireland