Fitzgerald’s of Kildare
During the War of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster, both sought support from the Anglo-Norman families in Ireland. The Butlers of Ormond were loyal supporters of the Lancaster, while York had the support of the Fitzgerald’s of Desmond and Kildare. York triumphed in 1461 and King Edward IV appointed the Earl of Desmond as governor of Ireland. He then decided that the Earl was not English enough and had him beheaded.
As the Butlers had supported the House of Lancaster they would not have even been considered for the job, so that only left the Fitzgerald’s of Kildare. Finally, in 1478 Gearoid Mor Fitzgerald became overall governor of Ireland. The Fitzgerald’s were a huge family that consisted of Anglo-Normans and Gaels and were well connected and enormously wealthy. So determined was Gearoid Mor that the Fitzgerald house would succeed that even the central administration in London, who did not have the military resources to enforce direct rule, were powerless.
The Lancastrians regained the throne in 1485 with Henry Tudor (Henry VII). He managed to replace Gearoid Mor Fitzgerald in the 1490’s with an Englishman named Sir Edward Poynings. In 1494 Poynings passed a law which made acts of the Irish parliament subject to English approval.
Henry VII was a thrifty man and had no intention of paying to keep Poynings or an army in Ireland and in 1496 Gearoid Mor Fitzgerald was restored as governor, a position he held until his death in 1513. His son, the 9th Earl, Gearoid Og held the position of governor until 1534 after briefly being removed in the 1520’s.
The Earls of Kildare held control of Ireland by using their own armies and those of their allies. They controlled the taxes and the jobs but they still had to ultimately answer to the English Throne.
Earls of Kildare List
- John FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare (1250-1316)
- Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare (d. 1328)
- Richard FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Kildare (1317-1329)
- Maurice FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare (1318-1390)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Kildare (d. 1410)
- John FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare (d. 1427)
- Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare (d. 1478)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (c. 1456-1513)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare (1487-1534)
- Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (d. 1537) (forfeit 1537)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare (1525-1585) (restored 1569)
- Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare (1562-1597)
- William FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Kildare (d. 1599)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare (d. 1612)
- Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Kildare (1611-1620)
- George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (1612-1660)
- Wentworth FitzGerald, 17th Earl of Kildare (1634-1664)
- John FitzGerald, 18th Earl of Kildare (1661-1707)
- Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare (1675-1744)
- James FitzGerald, 20th Earl of Kildare (1722-1773)
Source: Wikipedia
