Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald, Lord Offaly

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Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald, Lord Offaly is our 22nd great grandfather.
Janet Milburn 3/20/23

Source: Visions of the past
The scant remains of the North Abbey of Youghal, also know as the Priory of Our Lady of Graces stands in the grounds of a still operating cemetery. This Dominican priory was founded in 1267 by Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald, the second baron of Desmond, whose maternal grandfather, Maurice Fitzgerald had founded the Franciscan Friary of South Abbey, Youghal. Thomas went by the nickname ‘Ape’ due to an unusual occurrence in his childhood as mentioned in the ‘Desmond Pedigree’, ‘This Thomas, being in his swadling cloaths accidentally left alone in his cradle, was by an Ape carryed up to the battlements of the monastery of Traly, where the little beast, to the admiration of many spectators, dandled him to and froe, whilst everyone ran with theire beds and caddows, thinking to catch the child when it should fall from the Ape. But Divine providence prevented that danger ; for the Ape miraculously bore away the infant, and left him in the cradle as he found him, by which accident this Thomas was ever after nicknamed from The Ape‘.

The Priory was initially dedicated to the Holy Cross, but was changed to ‘Our Lady of Graces’ in the late 15th century following the re-discovery of a small ivory statue of the Madonna and Child. The statue had originally been brought from Europe to Ireland in 1304 by the Archbishop of Cashel, Maurice O’Carroll. When O’Carroll died in 1316 the small statue was buried with him in the Dominican church in Youghal. For over 100 years the statue was forgotten until a Dominican friar said that the Virgin Mary had appeared to him in a dream and asked that the statue be removed from the tomb. The statue was moved to the Priory, now renamed ‘Our Lady of Graces’ and became a site of pilgrimage for Christians. The statue was venerated and many miracles were ascribed to it.

In the aftermath of the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII gave the priory to Sir Walter Raleigh who ordered the buildings and the shrine to be demolished. Bad luck hindered the demolition, one workman falling from the roof and another dropping dead just as the work started. One of the Fitzgerald’s, Honoria, was able to rescue to statue, it was kept in a silver case made for it in 1617, over time it came into the possession of the Dominicans and moved to its permanent home in St Mary’s Church, Popes Quay, Cork.

In 1587 most of the priory was pulled down by Sir Walter Raleigh and in 1602 he sold it to Richard Boyle. The western gable and a few other remnants of this once important site are all that remain.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas FitzMaurice
Lord OConnello

Born c. 1145
Died 1213
Spouse(s) Ellinor de Marisco
Issue John FitzThomas
Parents Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan
Alice de Montgomery

Shanid Castle. Shanid was the seat of Thomas FitzMaurice.
Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, (c. 1145 – 1213) of Shanid,[1][2] was the eldest son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan by his wife, Alice (daughter of Arnulf de Montgomery).[3] Thomas was the progenitor[4] of the Geraldine House of Desmond, and brother of Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, progenitor of the Geraldine Houses of Kildare and Leinster.

In 1210, Thomas invaded Connacht with Geoffrey de Marisco at the head of a force of Anglo-Norman troops gathered in Munster, and of followers of Donnchad Cairprech Ó Briain, King of Thomond. This expedition aided in forcing Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht into negotiations with John de Gray, Justiciar of Ireland.[5]

Marriage and issue
Thomas FitzMaurice married Ellinor, daughter of Jordan de Marisco, and sister of Geoffrey de Marisco, who was appointed justiciar of Ireland in 1215.,[6][4] and had issue:

John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond[6][4]
Ancestors of Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald
Notes

Otway-Ruthven, A.P. (1993). A History of Medieval Ireland. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. p. 87. ISBN 1-56619-216-1.

Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: 1878.

Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700. Eighth ed. (2008), p. 169.

Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204

Otway-Ruthven, A. J. (1993). History of Medieval Ireland. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 82. ISBN 1-56619-216-1.

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. 83

Categories: 1140s births1213 deathsNormans in IrelandNorman warriorsFitzGerald dynasty12th-century Irish people13th-century Irish people