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 Robert FitzStephen (died 1183) was a Cambro-Norman soldier, one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland, for which he was granted extensive lands in Ireland. He was a son of the famous Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of ...

, constable of Cardigan, under

Robert FitzMartin Robert fitz Martin ( 10?? – c. 1159) was a knight from Devon whose father, Martin de Turribus, was the first Norman Lord of Kemes, in what had previously been the Dyfed part of Deheubarth. Fitz Martin inherited the Lordship of Kemes from his f ...

at the

Battle of Crug Mawr The Battle of Crug Mawr (), sometimes referred to as the Battle of Cardigan, took place in September or October 1136, as part of a Norman invasion of Wales, struggle between the Welsh people, Welsh and Normans for control of Ceredigion, West W ...

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 Llansteffan Castle () is a privately owned castle in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, Wales, overlooking the River Tywi estuary in Carmarthen Bay. Iron Age The castle sits on a much older Iron Age promontory fort, proving Llansteffan has been ...

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 Diarmait Mac Murchada (Modern Irish: ''Diarmaid Mac Murchadha''; anglicised as Dermot MacMurrough or Dermot MacMurphy; – c. 1 May 1171), was King of Leinster in Ireland from 1127 to 1171. In 1167, he was deposed by the High King of Ireland ...

(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 Cambro-Normans (; "Wales", ; ) were Normans who settled in southern Wales and the Welsh Marches after the Norman invasion of Wales. Cambro-Norman knights were also the leading force in the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland, led by Richard de ...

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 Arnulf de Montgomery (born 1066; died 1118/1122) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman magnate. He was a younger son of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery and Mabel de Bellême. Arnulf's father was a leading magnate ...

. 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 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 fi ...

(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 The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was ...

) Lord Llanstephan's second eldest son Gerald FitzMaurice, the 1st Lord of Offaly was the progenitor of the

FitzGerald Fitzgerald may refer to: People * Fitzgerald (surname), a surname * Fitzgerald Hinds, Trinidadian politician * Fitzgerald Toussaint (born 1990), former American football running back Place Australia * Fitzgerald River National Park, a nati ...

and FitzMaurice

Earls of Kildare Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title and the premier dukedom in the Peerage of Ireland. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in th ...

and

Dukes of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title and the premier dukedom in the Peerage of Ireland. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in th ...

. 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 ...

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 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 MacCar ...

, 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 Nest ferch Rhys (c. 1085 – c. 1136) was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth in Wales, by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. Her family is of the House of Dinefwr. Nest was the wife of Gerald de Wind ...

, Princess of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

and a member of the Welsh royal

House of Dinefwr The Royal House of Dinefwr, also known as the House of Deheubarth, was a cadet branch of the Royal House of Gwynedd, founded by King Cadell ap Rhodri (reign 872–909), son of Rhodri the Great.

Notes

References

Citations

*. * *. *. *. *. * *. {{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