Maurice FitzGerald ( 1105 – c. September 1176) was Lord of
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 ...
,
Naas
Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...
and
Llanstephan. He was a medieval
Anglo-Norman baron and a major figure in the
Norman invasion of Ireland.
[ Cokayne 1890]
Wars in Wales and Ireland

A Welsh
Marcher Lord
A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales.
A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...
, Lord Llanstephan had fought alongside his older brother William FitzGerald, and half-brother
Robert FitzStephen, constable of
Cardigan, under
Robert FitzMartin at the
Battle of Crug Mawr in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in 1136.
Llansteffan Castle overlooks the River Tywi estuary where it enters Carmarthen Bay. It was captured by
Maredudd ap Gruffydd in 1146 against the forces of Maurice FitzGerald and his brother William, Lord of Emlyn who were the leading Norman settlers of the region. The castle was retaken by the Normans in 1158.
Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough), the deposed
King of Leinster who had been exiled by the
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
, sought
Cambro-Norman assistance to regain his throne. Lord Llanstephan participated in the resulting 1169
Norman invasion of Ireland
The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...
. He assisted his younger half-brother Robert Fitz-Stephen in the
Siege of Wexford. His nephew
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
was
Strongbow's second-in-command and had the chief share both in the capture of
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
and in the successful assault on
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in 1171. Lord Lanstephan and his sons the
FitzMaurices also fought in this battle.
[
]
Marriage and issue
Maurice FitzGerald, Lord Llanstephan is known to have married Alice de Montgomery, a daughter of Arnulf de Montgomery. It has been asserted by eminent authorities that Arnulf left, by his wife, Lafracoth, a daughter, Alice, and that she was later the wife of Maurice FitzGerald, son of Gerald FitzWalter (Gerald of Windsor). By Maurice, one of the first conquerors of Ireland, who died in 1176, she was the mother of Gerald (died 1205), who laid the fortunes of the FitzGeralds of Kildare. (Even Curtis—referenced below—says he cannot find a source for Alice and, on the whole, she seems a) unlikely to have existed and b) impossible for Maurice to have met.) Alice herself was living in 1171, and was then in Ireland with her husband and sons.[Curtis, E. "Murchertach O'Brien, High King of Ireland, and His Norman Son-in-Law, Arnulf De Montgomery, circa 1100". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', vol. 11, no. 2, (1921), pp. 123-124.] Maurice FitzGerald, by his wife Alice, had the following children:
:* Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello (d. 1213)
:* Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly (1150–1204)
:* William FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Naas (d. 1199)
:* Maurice FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Kiltrany
:* Alexander FitzMaurice
:* Robert FitzMaurice
:* Nesta FitzMaurice (m. Hervey de Montmorenci, Constable of England)
Lord Llanstephan's second eldest son Gerald FitzMaurice, the 1st Lord of Offaly was the progenitor of the FitzGerald and FitzMaurice Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster.
The original Earldom of Desmond in the province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of 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 ...
was based on landholdings belonging to the descendants of Maurice's eldest son Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello. Thomas's son John FitzMaurice FitzThomas, who was killed in the Battle of Callann, became the 1st Baron Desmond. Others from this line include the Knights of Glin and Knights of Kerry.
Ancestry
Maurice FitzGerald, Lord Llanstephan was the second-eldest son of Gerald FitzWalter known as Gerald de Windsor, Constable of Pembroke by his wife, Nest ferch Rhys, Princess of Deheubarth and a member of the Welsh royal House of Dinefwr.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Maurice
1100s births
1176 deaths
12th-century English nobility
12th-century Normans
Normans in Ireland
Anglo-Normans in Wales
Norman warriors
People from Pembrokeshire
Maurice
12th-century Welsh nobility