Sir Edward J. Fitzgerald, 1st Baronet (24 November 1846 – 22 June 1927) was an Irish politician. He spent several decades as a member of

Cork Corporation Cork City Council () is the local authority of the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Before 1 January 2002, the council was known as Cork Corporation. The council is responsible for ho ...

and was the second

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...

Early life

Born in Inchigeelagh,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Fitzgerald was the son of Daniel Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Corcoran. He was educated locally and worked as a carpenter, before moving to Cork at the age of 24 where he established his own building firm.

Political career

Fitzgerald took an active part in municipal affairs and, after being elected to

in the 1880s, was also a member of the Cork Harbour Board, the Board of Guardians, and many social and political societies. He also filled the office of high sheriff. At the time of the Parnell split, he sided with the Anti-Parnellite majority, joining the

Irish National Federation The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles ...

. Fitzgerald was elected

in 1901 and served two further consecutive terms. During his tenure he presided over the Cork International Exhibition in 1902. As chairman of the executive committee, he travelled throughout

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

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 ...

collecting funds for the project. Such was the success of the exhibition that it was continued for a second year and attended by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

who conferred a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on Fitzgerald. After the exhibition, the grounds were converted into a public park, which was given the name Fitzgerald's Park in his honour. Fitzgerald unsuccessfully contested the

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

constituency as an

Independent Nationalist Independent Nationalist () is a political title frequently used by Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland not as members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, in the lat ...

candidate at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

. He remained a member of Cork Corporation until the 1920s.

Personal life and death

Fitzgerald married Johanna O'Donoghue in January 1872. They had ten children, eight of whom survived into adulthood. Two of his sons, Andy and Bill Fitzgerald, played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

with the Cork senior hurling team. A third son, Fr. Edward Fitzgerald, was a member of the Cork County Board of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

. After his retirement from public life, Fitzgerald lived in

Ovens file:Double oven.jpg, upA double oven file:Four à céramique - Japan Auréa - 2011-0403- P1070446.JPG, A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means o ...

. He died at his residence on 22 June 1927, aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Edward, Sir, 1st Baronet 1846 births 1927 deaths Lord mayors of Cork