Thomas FitzWilliam, 1st Viscount FitzWilliam
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Thomas FitzWilliam, 1st Viscount Fitzwilliam (1581–1650) was an Irish nobleman of the
Stuart period The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period was plagued by internal and religious strife, and a large-scale civil war which resulted in the Execution of Charles I, execu ...
. He was born to wealth and privilege, and acquired a
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
, but due to his loyalty to the English Crown, he suffered considerable hardship during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, and died in poverty.


Background

He was born in
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 ...
, probably at
Merrion Castle Merrion Castle was a castle situated about 300m south of the present-day Merrion Gates, to the south of Dublin city centre. Built in the early fourteenth century, it was from the sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century the principal s ...
, eldest of the five sons of Sir Richard FitzWilliam, Constable of
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...
, and Jane Preston, who was probably a close relative (but not the daughter) of Christopher Preston, 4th
Viscount Gormanston Viscount Gormanston is a noble title, created in 1478, held by the Anglo-Irish Preston family since the Middle Ages. The oldest vicomital title in the British Isles, Lord Gormanston is accorded the style of Premier Viscount of Ireland. Desc ...
. The FitzWilliam family are recorded in Dublin from about 1210, and by the time of Thomas's birth they were among the wealthiest and most influential families in
the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...
.


Early career

Thomas was only fourteen when his father died. As a young man he spent some time in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
studying law at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
. He was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in 1605, the year of his marriage. In 1608 he narrowly avoided being caught up in the rebellion of Sir
Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( or ; 1587 – 5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Irish chief of the O'Doherty clan, who in 1608 launched a failed rebellion against the English crown. O'Doherty was the eldest son of clan chief John O'Doherty, ruler of ...
, having stood
surety In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...
for the good behaviour of O'Doherty, who had married Thomas's cousin Mary Preston. A messenger arrived at Merrion Castle ordering FitzWilliam to produce the person of O'Doherty; fortunately, FitzWilliam was not at home. He was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
the same year, and served as Sheriff of County Dublin in 1609. In 1610 he received a substantial grant of land in
County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...
from the English Crown. No doubts about his loyalty to the Crown seem to have been entertained, except perhaps during the latter part of the English Civil War. In 1629 King
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
created him
Viscount FitzWilliam Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in th ...
in recognition of his family's long record of service to the Crown. It appears that a good deal was expected in return for the title, and Thomas had to make substantial gifts of money to the King. This put a particular burden on his estates since he was involved in protracted litigation with his numerous brothers and sisters, due to his father's breaking of an
entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...
on the estates, which benefitted Thomas at the expense of his siblings. Admittedly Thomas himself had been the beneficiary of a generous Crown grant of land in Armagh. Like nearly all of his family, he inclined to the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
faith, while adhering in public to the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
. Later generations of Fitzwilliams, including his son William, were quite open in their support for the Catholic religion.


Civil war and last years

When the
Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...
broke out, FitzWilliam, unlike many of the nobility of the Pale, remained loyal to the Crown, despite strong pressure from his mother's family, the Prestons of Gormanston, and particularly the military commander
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara (1585October 1655) was an Irish soldier of the 17th century. After lengthy service as a mercenary in the Spanish Army, Preston returned to Ireland following the outbreak of the Rebellion of 1641. He was appointe ...
, to join the
Irish Confederacy Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1652, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...
. He was one of only three nobles to offer their assistance in the
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
defence of Dublin, and a garrison was placed in Merrion Castle. It was betrayed in June 1642 and thereafter FitzWilliam only lived there for short periods. He offered his services to the Lords Justices, but despite his long record of loyalty to the Crown he was rebuffed, apparently on account of his known leanings towards the Roman Catholic religion, and he took no further part in the fighting. He spent some time in England, where the King received him courteously. He was promised an English
Earldom 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 ...
, but the promise was not kept. He returned to Ireland, only to discover that he had been
outlawed An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...
. In his last years he led an unsettled existence, sometimes living at Merrion Castle, sometimes with his eldest son at
Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...
, and sometimes in
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...
. At times he seems to have been almost destitute, and he wrote to
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant general, Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, Knight of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond fr ...
in 1647 asking for repayment of a
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...
. In 1648 he was promised a
pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
of £100 a year, but it is unclear if he ever received it. Due perhaps to the confused conditions of the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, little seems to be known about the date and place of his death. Even the year of his death has been disputed, but is generally stated to be 1650. He was certainly dead before 1655 when his eldest surviving son Oliver was allowed to inherit some of the estates, though most were not restored until 1663.


Family

In 1605 he married Margaret Plunkett, daughter of Oliver Plunkett, 4th
Baron Louth Baron Louth is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It has been created twice. History The title was created firstly c. 1458 for Sir Thomas Bathe, later Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. Although he had at least one son, John Bathe of Ardee, the ...
and his wife Frances, who was the daughter of
Nicholas Bagenal Sir Nicholas Bagenal (; - February 1591) was an English soldier and politician who became Marshal of the Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Army during the Tudor era. Early life Nicholas Bagenal was born around 1509. He was the second so ...
and Eleanor Griffith, and sister of
Henry Bagenal Sir Henry Bagenal PC (c. 1556 – 14 August 1598) was marshal of the Royal Irish Army during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Life Henry Bagenal was born in England, the eldest son of Staffordshire soldier Nicholas Bagenal and his Welsh wif ...
and of
Mabel Bagenal Mabel O'Neill, Countess of Tyrone (née Bagenal; – December 1595) was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman best known as the third wife of the prominent Gaelic Irish lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Mabel was born in Newry to British parents. Her fa ...
, Countess of Tyrone. They had four sons: *Richard, who predeceased his father: he married Elizabeth Stanihust but had no children; *
Oliver FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Oliver FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell and 2nd Viscount FitzWilliam (died 11 April 1667), was an Irish nobleman. His father was The 1st Viscount FitzWilliam (1581–1650). His mother was Margaret Plunkett, daughter of Oliver, 4th Baron Louth ...
, he was married three times but had no children; *Christopher, who lived mainly in England: he married Jane Brereton of Malpas (whose sister Dorothy was his brother Oliver's first wife) and had one surviving daughter but no son; *
William FitzWilliam, 3rd Viscount FitzWilliam William FitzWilliam, 3rd Viscount FitzWilliam (c.1610–1674) was an Irish nobleman of the Stuart period. He fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War, but later made his peace with the Cromwellian regime. In his later years, he ope ...
, ancestor of all succeeding Viscounts Fitzwilliam. He married Mary Luttrell and had six children.


Character

His friend
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant general, Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, Knight of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of England, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond fr ...
described him as a man who was "in every way faithful to his allegiance". This is especially interesting since Ormonde in later years was no friend to Fitzwilliam's son Oliver, who played a careful double game during the
Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...
era and was accused of divided loyalties.Ball, p.13


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzwilliam, Thomas Fitzwilliam, 1st Viscount 1581 births 1650 deaths 16th-century Irish nobility 17th-century Irish nobility Nobility from Dublin (city) Viscounts FitzWilliam Peers of Ireland created by Charles I People from Mount Merrion People of Elizabethan Ireland Cavaliers