James FitzJohn Fitzgerald, 13th Earl of Desmond

James FitzJohn [FitzGerald], 13th Earl of Desmond, PC

born

mar. (1)

(repudiated on the grounds of consanguinity) his great-niece Hon Joan Roche, dau. of Maurice [Roche], 1st Viscount Fermoy, by his first wife Eleanor FitzGerald, only dau. of his yr. brother Sir Maurice FitzJohn FitzGerald

children by first wife

1. Sir Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, self styled 14th Earl of Desmond, bastardised and disinherited by his father, knighted 1569 at Limerick by the Lord Deputy Sidney (d. 18 Jan 1595; bur. at Youghal), mar. (sic?) Hon ..... Roche, dau. of David [Roche], Viscount Fermoy, and had issue:

1a. James FitzThomas FitzGerald, self styled 15th Earl of Desmomd (dsp. legit. in the Tower of London; bur. 28 Apr 1607 in St Peter's Chapel), mar. (1) his cousin Hon Margaret Power, 2nd dau. of John [Power], 3rd Baron le Power and Coroghmore, by his first wife Lady Eleanor FitzGerald, 1st dau. by his second wife of James FitzJohn [FitzGerald], 13th Earl of Desmond, and (2) Ellen FitzGibbon, widow of Maurice FitzGibbon, sister of Theobald [Butler], 1st Baron Caher, and dau. of Piers Butler

2a. John FitzThomas Fitzgerald, self styled 16th Earl of Desmond (d. after 1615), mar. ..... Comerford, dau. of Richard Comerford, of Dangenmore, co. Kilkenny, and had issue:

1b. Gerald FitzJohn FitzGerald, self styled 17th Earl of Desmond (d. 1632 in Germany)

mar. (2)

before 1533 his first cousin once removed More O'Carroll (d. 1548), dau. of Sir Maolroney O'Carroll, Lord of Ely O'Carroll, by his wife Margery O'Brien, dau. of Turlogh O'Brien, Captain of Thomond, by his wife Lady Ellen FitzGerald, only dau. of Thomas FitzJames [FitzGerald], 7th Earl of Desmond

children by second wife

1. Hon Gerald FitzJames FitzGerald, later 14th Earl of Desmond

1. Lady Eleanor FitzGerald, mar. as his first wife John [Poer], 3rd Baron le Power and Coroghmore, and had issue

2. Lady Honora FitzGerald (dspms. after Aug 1598), mar. Donald [MacCarthy], 1st Earl of Clancare, and had issue

mar. (3)

before Feb 1549/50 Lady Catherine Power (d. 17 Mar 1552/3), widow of Richard [Power], 1st Baron le Power and Coroghmore, and 2nd dau. of Piers [Butler], 8th Earl of Ormonde and 1st Earl of Ossory, by his wife Lady Margaret FitzGerald, "the Great Countess", 2nd dau. by his first wife of Gerald [FitzGerald], 8th Earl of Kildare

mar. (4)

1553 Eveleen MacCarthy (mar. (2) as his first wife Conor [O'Brien], 3rd Earl of Thomond; d. 1560; bur. in Muckross Abbey), sister of Donal [MacCarthy], 1st Earl of Clancare, and dau. of Donald MacCarthy, son of Cormac "Ladrach" MacCarthy Mor

died

14 Oct 1558 (bur. in the Franciscan Friary at Askeaton)

suc. by

son by second wife

Source: http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/desmond1329.htm

James (Séamus) FitzJohn FitzGerald (died 27 October 1558) was an Irish nobleman, the second son of John FitzGerald, de facto 12th Earl of Desmond, and Móre O'Brien, daughter of Donogh O'Brien of Carrigogunnell, Lord of Pobble. He held the title of Earl of Desmond from 1536 until his death in 1558.

Beginning his tenure in alliance with rebellious groups in Ireland, the 14th Earl of Desmond eventually gained favour with the British crown, ultimately being appointed Lord Treasurer of Ireland in 1547, an office which he maintained until his death.

Immediately on the death of his grandfather in June 1536, James FitzGerald assumed the position and title of Earl of Desmond. In order to support his position, FitzGerald united with O'Brien of Thomond, the head of the discontented party in Ireland. The government, which had just suppressed the rebellion of Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, could not brook such insolence, and accordingly on 25 July 1536, Lord Leonard Grey, Lord Deputy of Ireland marched against him. Breaching the border of Cashel, Grey sought to separate FitzGerald from O'Brien, "so as we might have entangled but with one of them at once." Grey then marched forward and took possession of FitzGerald's castle in Lough Gur, the doors and windows of which had been carried away and the roof burnt by the rebels themselves. Grey then entrusted Lough Gur to Lord James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, who made it defensible.[1]

FitzGerald had no intention of imitating his unfortunate kinsman Thomas, Earl of Kildare. Although he refused to place his person within the power of the deputy, "he showed himself in gesture and communication very reasonable." Moreover, he offered to deliver up his two sons as hostages for his loyalty, and to submit his claims to the earldom to the decision of Lord Grey. FitzGerald's claim was renewed in December of the same year. "And as far as ever I could perceive," wrote Grey to Thomas Cromwell in February 1537, "the stay that keepeth him from inclining to the king's grace's pleasure is the fear and doubt which he and all the Geraldines[note 1] in Munster have in the Lord James Butler, both for the old malice that hath been betwixt their bloods, and principally for that he claimeth title by his wife to the earldom of Desmond."[2][3]

Grey argued in favour of FitzGerald's claims. In August 1538, Anthony St Leger, who was at the time serving on the commission "for the order and establishment to be taken and made touching the whole state of Ireland," was advised by Cromwell "to handle the said James in a gentle sort." Accordingly, on the 15th of September, FitzGerald was invited to submit his claims to the commissioners at Dublin. Suspecting their intention, he declined to place himself in their power, though signing articles of submission and promising to deliver up his eldest son as hostage for his good faith. The negotiations continued to be delayed. In March 1538, the commissioners wrote that FitzGerald "hath not only delivered his son, according to his first promise, to the hands of Mr. William Wyse of Waterford to be delivered unto us, but also hath affirmed by his secretary and writing all that he afore promised."[4]

FitzGerald had good reason for his cautious conduct. The Ormonde faction in the council, violently opposed to Grey and St. Leger, were assiduously striving to effect his ruin by entangling him in rebellious projects. In July 1539, John Allen related to Cromwell how the "pretended Earl of Desmond" had confederated with O'Donnell and O'Neill "to make insurrection against the king's majesty and his subjects, not only for the utter exile and destruction of them, but also for the bringing in, setting up, and restoring young Gerald (the sole surviving scion of the house of Kildare) to all the possessions and pre-eminences which his father had; and so finally among them to exclude the king from all his regalities within this land."[5]

In April 1540 the council informed the king that "your grace's servant James Fitzmaurice, who claimed to be Earl of Desmond, was cruelly slain the Friday before Palm Sunday, of unfortunate chance, by Maurice Fitzjohn, brother to James Fitzjohn, then usurper of the earldom of Desmond. After which murder done, the said James Fitzjohn immediately resorted to your town of Youghal, where he was well received and entertained, and ere he departed entered into all such piles and garrisons in the county of Cork as your majesty's deputy, with the assistance of your army and me, the Earl of Ormonde, obtained before Christmas last."[6]

Ormonde was sent to parley with FitzGerald, but he refused to trust him. On the arrival of St. Leger as deputy, however, FitzGerald again renewed his offer of submission, and promised, upon pledges being given for his safety, to meet him at Cashel. This he did, and on bended knees renounced the supremacy of the pope. "And then," writes St. Leger, "considering the great variance between the Earl of Ormonde and him, concerning the title of the earldom of Desmond ... I and my fellows thought it not good to leave that cancer remain, but so laboured the matter on both sides, that we have brought them to a final end of the said title."

St. Leger assured the king "that sith my repair into this your land I have not heard better counsel of no man for the reformation of the same than of the said Earl of Desmond, who undoubted is a very wise and discreet gentleman," for which reason, he said, he had sworn him of the council and given him "gown, jacket, doublet, hose, shirts, caps, and a riding coat of velvet, which he took very thankfully, and ware the same in Limerick and in all places where he went with me."[7] By such conciliatory conduct did St. Leger, in the opinion of Justice Cusack, win over to obedience the whole province of Munster.[8]

In July 1541, James FitzGerald was appointed chief executor of the "ordinances for the reformation of Ireland" in Munster. In token of the renunciation of the privilege claimed by his ancestors of not being obliged to attend the great councils of the realm, he took his seat in a parliament held at Dublin. In June 1542 he visited England, where, being admitted to the presence of the king, he was by him graciously received, his title acknowledged, and the king himself wrote to the Irish council "that the Earl of Desmond hath here submitted himself in so honest, lowly, and humble a sort towards us, as we have conceived a very great hope that he will prove a man of great honour, truth, and good service." Nor did he, during the rest of his life, fail to justify this opinion. On 9 July 1543 he obtained a grant of the crown lease of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, "for his better supporting at his repair" to parliament.

By Edward VI he was created Lord Treasurer on the death of the Earl of Ormonde (patent 29 March 1547), and on 15 October 1547, when thanking him for his services in repressing disorders in Munster, the king offered to make a companion of his son. During the government of Edward Bellingham he was suspected of treasonable designs, and having refused a peremptory order to appear in Dublin, the deputy swooped down upon him unexpectedly in the dead of winter, 1548, and carried him off prisoner. He was soon released and continued in office by Queen Mary.

James FitzGerald married four times: first, Joan Roche, daughter of Maurice, Lord Fermoy, and his own grandniece, for which reason, the marriage was annulled. Their son, Sir Tomás Ruadh FitzGerald of Conna, father of James (Séamus) Fitzgerald, "the Sugán Earl," was duly disinherited. James FitzGerald then married Móre O'Carroll, daughter of Sir Maolrony McShane O'Carroll, Lord of Ely, by whom he had Géaroîd, his heir, as well as another son, Seán, and four daughters. Móre O'Carroll died in 1548. FitzGerald's third wife was Caitríona Butler, second daughter of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, and widow of Richard, Baron le Poer. Caitríona died at Askeaton, 17 March 1553. His last marriage was to Evelyn Mór MacCarthy, daughter of Donal MacCormac, MacCarthy Môr, by whom he had a son, Sir Séamus-Sussex FitzGerald who died in 1580, and a daughter, Elinor.

In the summer of 1558 the 14th Earl of Desmond was afflicted with a serious illness, and died at Askeaton on Thursday, 27 October. He was buried in the abbey of the White Friars, Tralee. Within a half century after James FitzGerald's death, chroniclers of the Annals of Four Masters observed, "The loss of this good man was woful to his country; for there was no need to watch cattle, or close doors from Dun-caoin, in Kerry, to the green bordered meeting of the three waters, on the confines of the province of Eochaidh, the son of Lachta and Leinster."[9]

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_FitzGerald,_14th_Earl_of_Desmond

• ________________________
• James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond1
• M, #33148, d. 14 October 1558
• Last Edited=16 Sep 2010
• James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond was the son of Sir John of Desmond. He married, secondly, Móre O'Carroll, daughter of Mulrony McShane O'Carroll and Margaret O'Brien. He married, firstly, Lady Katherine Butler, daughter of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormonde and Lady Margaret FitzGerald, in February 1549/50.2 He died on 14 October 1558.3
• He held the office of Lord High Treasurer [Ireland].4 He gained the title of 13th Earl of Desmond.1
• Child of James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond and Lady Katherine Butler
  • 1.Sir Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald+5 d. 18 Jan 1595
• Children of James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond
  • 1.Joan FitzGerald6 d. 1600
  • 2.unknown daughter FitzGerald7
  • 3.Lady Eleanor FitzGerald+2
• Children of James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond and Móre O'Carroll
  • 1.Lady Margaret FitzGerald+1 d. 1563
  • 2.Lady Honora FitzGerald+8
  • 3.Gerald FitzJames FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond+3 b. c 1533, d. 11 Nov 1583
  • 4.Sir James FitzJames FitzGerald9 b. 26 Jun 1558, d. 1580
• Citations
• 1.[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VII, page 210. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
• 2.[S37] BP2003 volume 3, page 4085. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
• 3.[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IV, page 252.
• 4.[S47] BIFR1976 page 345. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S47]
• 5.[S47] BIFR1976. [S47]
• 6.[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume I, page 440.
• 7.[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, page 465.
• 8.[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume III, page 214.
• 9.[S22] Sir Bernard Burke, C.B. LL.D., A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, new edition (1883; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978), page 206. Hereinafter cited as Burkes Extinct Peerage.
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p3315.htm#i33148
• ________________________________
• James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond, Lord Treasurer of Ireland1
• M, #143561, d. 14 October 1558
• Father Sir John FitzGerald, Lord of Desmond1
• Mother More O'Brien1
• James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond, Lord Treasurer of Ireland married More O'Carroll, daughter of Sir Maolrony O'Carroll, Lord of Ely O'Carroll and Margery O'Brien, before 1533.1 James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond, Lord Treasurer of Ireland died on 14 October 1558.1 He was buried on 1 November 1558 at Franciscan Friary, Askeaton, Limerick, Ireland.1
• Family More O'Carroll d. 1548
• Child
  • Sir Gerald FitzJames FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond1 b. c 1533, d. 11 Nov 1583
• Citations
• 1.[S11568] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, by George Edward Cokayne, Vol. IV, p. 251-252.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p4781.htm#...
• _______________________________

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Either the 13th or 14th Earl of Desmond (depends on the particular reference)

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jf-63&id=...

He married four times :*

• First, Joan Roche, daughter of Maurice, lord Fermoy, and his own grandniece, for which reason she was put

  away, and her son, Thomas Roe (father of James Fitzthomas Fitzgerald, the Sugan Earl, known as Sir 

  Thomas of Desmond, disinherited ;

* Secondly, More, daughter of Sir Maolrony McShane O'Carroll, lord of Ely O'Carroll, by whom he had Gerald, his

   heir, also John and four daughters she died in 1548 ;

* Thirdly, Catherine, second daughter of Piers, earl of Ormonde, and widow of Richard, lord Power she died at

    Askeaton, 17 March 1553;

* Fourthly, Ellen, daughter of Donald MacCormac, MacCarthy Môr, by whom he had a son, Sir James-Sussex

   Fitzgerald, and a daughter, Elinor.