Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare

Gerald Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald KG, the 8th Earl of Kildare (d. c. 3 September 1513), known variously as "Garret the Great" or "the Great Earl", was Ireland's premier nobleman. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 1496 onwards.

Family

Gearoid Mór (meaning "Big Garret") was the son of Thomas Fitzgerald, 7th Earl of Kildare and Jane Fitzgerald, the daughter of James Fitzgerald, 6th Earl of Desmond. The Anglo-Norman Fitzgeralds had risen to become the premier "Old English" peers in Ireland. They were descended from Gerard de Windsor and Nest, the daughter of the last King of Deheubarth. One of his ancestors, Maurice Fitzgerald de Windsor, known as the "Invader of Ireland" had travelled to Ireland with Richard de Clare (Strongbow). Controversial Irish king Diarmuid MacMorrough had given him the town of Wexford, only to have it confiscated again by Henry II of England. Another ancestor, Maurice Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald served as Lord Justice of Ireland.

Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald married Alison Fitzeustace, with whom he had two children:
* Gearoid Óg FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare
* Margaret Fitzgerald

He later married Elizabeth St. John of County Kildare and had a further five children:
* Sir James Fitzgerald of Leixlip
* Oliver Fitzgerald
* Richard Fitzgerald of Fassaroe
* Sir John Fitzgerald
* Walter Fitzgerald.

Politics

Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald was appointed Lord Deputy in 1477, but was replaced by Lord Grey on the supposition that an Englishman could do the job better. The lords of the Pale set up a breakaway parliament in protest, and Edward IV was forced to re-install Gearóid Mór. He inherited the title of Earl of Kildare in 1478.

Fitzgerald managed to keep his position after the York dynasty in England was toppled and Henry VII becoming king, but Fitzgerald blatantly disobeyed King Henry on several occasions; he supported the pretender to the throne of England and the Lordship of Ireland, Lambert Simnel, while defeating another pretender, Perkin Warbeck in battle in Galway. However, Henry needed Fitzgerald to rule in Ireland, and at the same time couldn't control him.

He presided over a period of near independence from English rule between 1477 and 1494. This independence ended when his enemies in Ireland seized power and had him sent to London as a traitor. He suffered a double blow: he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and his wife died soon after. He was tried in 1496, and used the trial to convince Henry VII that the ruling factions in Ireland were "false knaves". Henry immediately appointed him as Lord Deputy of Ireland, saying "All Ireland cannot govern this Earl; then let this Earl govern all Ireland." Gearóid returned to Ireland in triumph.

He ruled with an iron fist. He suppressed a rebellion in the city of Cork in 1500 by hanging the city's mayor. He raised up an army against rebels in Connacht in 1504, defeating them at the Battle of Knockdoe.

On an expedition against the O'Carrolls, he was mortally wounded while watering his horse in Kilkea. He was conveyed back to Kildare, where he died on or around 3 September 1513.

The Legend of the Great Earl's Ghost

A legend, re-told by Nuala O'Faoláin, says that Gearóid was skilled in the black arts, and could shapeshift. However, he would never let his wife see him take on other forms, much to her chagrin. After much pleading, he yielded to her, and turned himself into a goldfinch before her very eyes. A sparrowhawk flew into the room, seized the "goldfinch", and he was never seen again.

The Great Earl and his soldiers now slumber in a cavern beneath the Curragh of Kildare, ready to awaken to defend Ireland in her hour of need. The Earl rises once every seven years on May Day, and rides around the Curragh on his steed. When his horse's shoes are worn down to the thickness of a cat's ear, he will lead his army against the English, drive them out, and reign as king of Ireland for forty years.