Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445)

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Adair Family Migrated from Ireland to Scotland in early 15th Century
Capture of Dunskey Castle, c.1390
FitzGerald dynasty

Robert FitzGerald of Adair was born circa 1366 in Adare, County Limerick, Ireland to Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398) and Alinore Boteler (c1370-1395) and died 1445 Wigtownshire, Scotland of unspecified causes. He married Arabella Campbell (1370-1450) 1384 ^JL in Scotland.

Ancestry

The family is of Norman descent. His father Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398), 3rd Earl Desmond, was briefly Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and then mysteriously disappeared.

Legend

It is in this swashbuckling line that we find the ancestor of the Adairs, a 'Robert Fitzgerald de Adair, who was born in County Limerick in 1366. The versions of how Robert ties in with the Fitzgeralds and his eventual flight to Scotland are as numerous as branches on a family tree. But through comparing the various stories, a reasonable hypothesis can be assumed. Among several sources Robert Fitzgerald de Adair is said to be “of the house of Desmond.” Some assert that he was “a fugitive son of Fitzgerald, Earl Desmond,” while another makes the more likely assertion that Robert was a grandson of an earl of Desmond. None dispute that Robert was born in 1366, and from this we can analyze the house of Desmond to see where in this notorious clan he fits in.

According to the stories, Robert Fitzgerald, born in County Limerick in 1366, killed a kinsman (several accounts call the kinsman a ‘white knight’) over the succession to his grandfather’s estate. Many accounts call the White Knight Robert’s adversary, and one even identifies him as the second son of Gerald, Earl of Desmond. If one supposes that Robert is a son of John, he who was robbed of his inheritance of the earldom, than many of these stories begin to make sense.

After all, although Robert would have been only a child of three at the time of his father’s death, it makes perfect sense that as he came of age he would want to avenge the wrongs his father suffered. He would likely have been willing to duel over the matter of “the succession to his grandfather’s estates,” since that implied the very earldom of Desmond itself! Although he was able to slay the White Knight, it created uproar and he was branded a fugitive for his deed. “The outlawed Robert Desmond Adair” then fled across the sea to Scotland. This duel, and Robert’s subsequent flight, supposedly took place about 1388. According to one source, he had a brother named William who joined him in his escape.

There are a few versions of how this Robert Fitzgerald of Desmond took upon the surname ‘Adair.’ One states that he took the name from the ford where the duel with the White Knight took place. It is in County Limerick and called Ath-dare (Gaelic/Celtic for a ford or bridge [ath] at the oak tree [dare]). Near the village of Adare there was a great oak tree which shaded a fourteenth century bridge that spanned the River Maigue. According to another source, Robert Fitzgerald inherited the Barony of Adair in the Earldom of Desmond and took his name from this. Regardless of the source, it seems clear that Robert hailed from the village of Adare in County Limerick of southwestern Ireland.

Capture of Dunskey

Robert Fitzgerald fought for the honor of family and title against a Gerald, the white knight, a distant cousin. Although Robert Fitzgerald's father was the Earl of Desmond, the Fitzgeralds did not see Robert as a nobleman. It was unacceptable for him to kill a knight. A powerful group was against Robert. Robert became a fugitive, relocating to Wigtownshire in south western Scotland. To cover his tracks, Robert was granted his surname 'Adare' after the town near his father's lands back in Ireland.

Upon arriving in Scotland, Robert learned that the King of Scotland had placed a bounty on the head of a man named 'Currie'. Currie was outlawed as a thief and pirate. The King promised Currie's castle, deemed nearly impregnable, to whoever would bring him the head of Currie. Robert Adare watched over Dunskey Castle for several days until Currie came out one evening. Robert followed Currie, and engaged the pirate in mortal combat, slaying him at the head of Colfin Glen. Robert took Currie's severed head to the court of Scotland, which explains the Adair crest of a severed head.

One source states that upon arrival he took upon him the name of his hometown, Adare, so that the friends of his slain kinsman in Ireland, who were seeking his revenge, would not discover him. Being a notorious Fitzgerald would have simply brought too much attention. However, the king of Scotland knew of his heroics, and during this time of warfare asked Robert of Adare to kill a rival of his. If he succeeded, as the story goes, the king would grant him lost fortunes and honor, which was his due to his noble birthright.

“He is reported to have captured by storm the Castle of Dunskey (c. 1390), at Port-an-Righ, now Portpatrick, from Walter de Currie, governor of the Castle of Wygetone, Kyrcudbricht, and Dumphries,” it was written of Robert of Adare. He delivered the severed head of this rival of the king’s to the gates of Edinburgh Castle. It is said that Robert “received investiture from the Scottish king on producing the evidence of his conquest."

Dunskey Castle

Dunskey Castle is a ruined, 12th-century tower house or castle, located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the village of Portpatrick, Rhinns, Wigtownshire, on the south-west coast of Scotland overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. On a clear day, the coast of Ireland is visible 21 miles away. Dunskey Castle is a scheduled monument, a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.

The castle was home to the Adair family for over 300 years, with a brief period when it fell into the hands of the Kennedy family in 1455. The original fortification was plundered and then destroyed in 1489 by Sir Alexander McCulloch. The tower house was then rebuilt in 1510 by Ninian Adair which is when it took on its L-shaped tower house layout. This version of the castle would have had a curtain wall and a watch tower out on the cliff edge.

Marriage to Arabella Campbell

Being now invested with a coat of arms, Robert Adair was ready to begin a family and legacy all of his own. While his own ancestry contained much Celtic Irish blood, and even Welsh-Norman, the Adair line over the next few generations would mingle with some of the finest families in Scotland.

In the year of the Battle of Otterburn, 1388, he married wisely -- Arabella Campbell (1370-1450) of Galloway, daughter of John Campbell, Lord of Argyle. The ancient clan of Campbell had been highly prominent in Argyle and western Scotland for centuries. The surname is one of the oldest in the Highlands, and was likely derived from the Gaelic cam-beul (twisted mouth).

In the previous century, Archibald Campbell had married the daughter of the king’s treasurer. This strategic alliance brought into the clan the title Lord of Lochow. With the knighting of Sir Colin Campbell in 1280, the Campbell chiefs of Argyle were designated MacCailean Mor, the official Scottish term for a clan chief. More recently, a crown charter was given to the Campbell’s in 1368, granting official clan status.

Arabella Campbell, who was born about 1370, settled down with Robert Adair in Kinhilt, County Wigton, Scotland. It is here that the Adairs of Scotland flourished for several centuries. In his later years, the original Robert Adair became known as Adare of Portree. Portree means ‘the king’s port.’

Adare Castle

Adare Castle is a manor house located on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, the former seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. It origins date from the 13th Century Norman invasion of Ireland when it became the seat of power for the Earl of Desmond. One descendant Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445), when fleeing justice in Ireland, settled in Scotland and adopted the name Adare, thereby founding the Adair Family.

The present house was built in the early 19th century, though retaining some of the walls of the 17th-century structure. It is now the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, a luxury hotel, and contains the Michelin-starred Oak Room restaurant.

Descendants

No documentation found to support existence of any other children except for these:

Niegel Adair (1392-1475) - line of Adairs of Dunskey Castle
Robert Adair (c1393-) - line of Adairs of Genoch

Children

Offspring of Robert FitzGerald of Adair and Arabella Campbell (1370-1450)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Niegel Adair (1392-1475)	1392 Dunskey Castle, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland	1475 Dunskey Castle, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland	Marrietta Vans (1395-1476)
Robert Adair (c1393-)	1393 Dunskey Castle, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland	9999 Wigtownshire, Scotland

Siblings

Offspring of Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398) and Alinore Boteler (c1370-1395)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John FitzGerald (c1360-1399)	1360 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
Katherine FitzGerald
Maurice FitzGerald (c1375-)

Residences

References

The Directory of Royal Genealogical Data located at http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal, 8/18/00.
Suffolk Record Office, Family, Personal, Local and Official.
Adair Family: General, HA12/A2/1/65.
Margaret Greenwood and Hildi Hawkins, Ireland: The Rough Guide, (London: Rough Guides, 1994). Also, http://genforum.genealogy.com/adair, 10/1/00.
Shirley Brown Adair, Robert Adair (1770-1845c): An Adair Family History, (1995, Unpublished manuscript on file at LDS Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).
Ireland Guide, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993).
R.F. Fosted, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989).
Art Cosgrove, ed., A New History of Ireland: Volume II, Medieval Ireland 1169-1534, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
Plantagenet Somerset Fry, Kings and Queens: A Royal History of England and Scotland, (London: DK, 1998).
History Scroll for Surname ‘Adair,’ Hall of Names International, Kingston, Ontario.

Footnotes (including sources)

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