John FitzThomas (c. 1250 – d. 10 September 1316) was an Anglo-Norman in 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 4th Lord of Offaly from 1287 and subsequently as 1st

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 ...

from 1316.

Life

He was the eldest son of Thomas FitzMaurice (son of Maurice FitzGerald) and Rohesia de St. Michel. He is noticed in 1291 in a serious dispute with William de Vesci, Lord of

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

Lord Justice of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...

, about whom there were many complaints of oppression and neglect of the country's defences. As champion of the complainants John FitzThomas, by then 4th Lord of Offaly (having succeeded to the title in 1287, upon the death of his uncle

Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean * Maurice, Iowa, a city * Maurice, Louisiana, a village * Maurice River, a t ...

), their paths crossed and instead of addressing the issues, de Vesci charged FitzThomas with minor charges of

slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...

and

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

, some touching the King himself. FitzThomas appealed to King Edward I of England, who, to examine and judge the matter impartially, summoned them both to London to hear the cases, where it appears FitzThomas had the advantage, challenging the Lord Justice to clear his name by

trial by combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

, which was accepted. However, de Vesci fled to France, whereupon the King pronounced Lord Offaly innocent, and settled upon him de Vesci's lordships and manors of

, Rathangan, &c., which had been forfeited to the Crown. FitzThomas, perhaps inevitably, clashed with the powerful and expansionist magnate

Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

. Their quarrel was at its height in 1294-5 when FitzThomas captured de Burgh and imprisoned him at Lea Castle for several months "to the disturbance of the whole land". The

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

eventually secured de Burgh's release. FitzThomas, though he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

for a number of very serious offences, obtained a

royal pardon In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal prerog ...

for all of them except those against de Burgh, to whom he was forced to surrender his lands in

Connacht 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, C ...

. Thereafter he and de Burgh were on reasonably amicable terms, and FitzThomas's eldest son married de Burgh's daughter Joan. In 1296 and 1299 he was summoned to fight for the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

in the Scottish campaigns of Edward II. With Sir John Wogan, Justiciar of Ireland, and others he went a third time to war in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1301-2.''Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen'', (James Wills, ed.), MacGregor, Polson & Co., Dublin, 1839
/ref> In 1307, with his son-in-law Sir Edmund Butler, he dispersed rebels in

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 ...

who had razed the castle of Geashill and burnt the town of

Leix County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Histo ...

. In 1312 he was sent as General at the head of an army into

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

to suppress armed Irish rebels. On 25 May 1315,

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Norman French: ; ; Modern Scottish Gaelic: or ; 1280 – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish cro ...

, brother to King

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

of Scotland, entered the north of Ireland with 6000 men, was crowned

King of Ireland Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. This continued in all of Ireland until 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act removed most of Ireland's residual ties to the British monarch. Northern Ireland, as p ...

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, and wasted the country. Lord Offaly, among others, commenced vigorous sporadic warfare to resist Bruce, leaving "great slaughter" of Scots and the Irish irregulars in his service. Edward Bruce was eventually defeated and killed in the battle of Dundalk. King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

created Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare by

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

dated 14 May 1316, the year in which he founded the Augustinian priory at

Adare Adare (; ) is a village in County Limerick, Ireland, located southwest of the city of Limerick. Adare is designated as a heritage town by the Irish government. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. History The River M ...

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

."History", Adare Village
/ref> He died that same year, on Sunday 12 September 1316, at Laraghbryan, near Maynooth and was interred in the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Friary of Clan,

Family

He married Blanche de La Roche, daughter of John de La Roche, Lord Fermoy and Maud Waley (daughter of Henry Waley), by whom he had two sons and two daughters: * Gerald (d.1303) * Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, his successor. * Joan FitzGerald, married in 1302 to

Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick Edmund Butler (died 1321), 6th Chief Butler of Ireland and nominally Earl of Carrick, was an Irish magnate who served as Justiciar of Ireland during the difficult times of the Scottish invasion from 1315 to 1318 and the great famine of 1316 to 1 ...

. * Elizabeth FitzGerald, married to Sir Nicholas de Netterville, ancestor of Viscount Netterville.

Life

Family

References

Further reading