James FitzGerald (c1370-1463)

Main

FitzGerald dynasty, 6th Earl of Desmond
AKA: James the Usurper
1420: Founder of the Franciscan friary at Askeaton Abbey.

Biography

James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond, was born circa 1370 in County Limerick, Ireland to Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398) and Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395) and died 1463 Ireland of unspecified causes. He married Mary Burke (c1390-1435) 1415 ^JL in Ireland.

James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond^[1]^[2] called 'the Usurper', was a younger son of Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond, and Lady Eleanor, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond.

The younger brother of John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond, James was uncle to the 4th Earl's only son Thomas FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Desmond, whom he was able to deprive of his earldom and dispossess in 1418 for marrying far below his station. The marriage between a man of Norman ancestry and a woman of Gaelic blood was in violation of the Statutes of Kilkenny. James FitzGerald took a leading role in forcing his nephew into exile in France where he died at Rouen two years later.

Although not acknowledged until 1422, he was in 1420 made Seneschal of Imokilly, Inchiquin, and the town of Youghal, by James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. Also in 1420, he founded the Franciscan friary at Askeaton Abbey.^[3]

In 1423 he was made Constable of County Limerick for life. In 1445 he was excused attendance at Parliament. Along with his son-in-law Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare, James was a prominent Irish supporter of the House of York.

He was also godfather to George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence.

Dying in 1462 or 1463, Desmond was buried at the Franciscan friary in Youghal.^[3]

Marriage and issue

James married Mary, daughter of William de Burgh, and they had issue two sons and two daughters:

Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond
Sir Gerald Mor FitzGerald, ancestor of the FitzGerald Lords of Decies of County Waterford
Honor FitzGerald - married Thomas Fitzmaurice., Lord of Kerry
Joan FitzGerald (c1435-c1486) - married Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare

Children

Offspring of James FitzGerald and Mary Burke (c1390-1435)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Thomas FitzGerald (c1420-c1467)	1420	15 February 1467 Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland	Ellise de Barry (c1431-1486)
Gerald FitzGerald
Honor FitzGerald
Joan FitzGerald (c1435-c1486)	1435 Ireland	1486 Adare, County Limerick, Ireland	Thomas FitzGerald (c1421-1477)

Siblings

Offspring of Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398) and Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John FitzGerald (c1364-1399)	1364 Ireland	4 March 1399 Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland
James FitzGerald (c1370-1463)	1370 County Limerick, Ireland	1463 Ireland	Mary Burke (c1390-1435)
Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445)	1366 Adare, County Limerick, Ireland	1445 Wigtownshire, Scotland	Arabella Campbell (1370-1450)
Joan FitzGerald (c1368-)
Katherine FitzGerald (c1370-)
Maurice FitzGerald (c1375-)

References

^ In earlier works commonly called the 7th Earl of Desmond.
^ FitzGerald of Desmond
^ ^a ^b Ireland and her people; a library of Irish biography, (Thomas W. H. Fitzgerald, ed.), Fitzgerald Book Company, 1910, p. 190 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III. London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 85

Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General

The Peerage

Ω Birth

year of birth from parents' wedding

Rtol, MainTour

[1] In earlier works commonly called the 7th Earl of Desmond.

[2] FitzGerald of Desmond

[fitz-3] Ireland and her people; a library of Irish biography, (Thomas W. H. Fitzgerald, ed.), Fitzgerald Book Company, 1910, p. 190 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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