James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond

James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond (d. 1462),[2][3] called 'the Usurper', was a younger son of Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond, and Lady Eleanor, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond.

Norman Ireland, showing the Earldom of Desmond in the southwest

James FitzGerald
Earl of Desmond
Tenure	1418-1462
Predecessor	Thomas FitzJohn FitzGerald
Successor	Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald
Died	1462[1]
Buried	Youghal
Nationality	Hiberno-Norman
Spouse(s)	Mary de Burgh
Issue Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald Gerald FitzGerald Honor FitzGerald Joan FitzGerald
Parents	Gerald FitzGerald Eleanor Butler

Life

The younger brother of John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond, James was uncle to the 4th Earl's only son Thomas FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Desmond, whom he was able to deprive of his earldom and dispossess in 1418 for marrying far below his station. The marriage between a man of Norman ancestry and a woman of Gaelic blood was in violation of the Statutes of Kilkenny. James FitzGerald took a leading role in forcing his nephew into exile in France where he died at Rouen two years later.

Although not acknowledged until 1422, he was in 1420 made Seneschal of Imokilly, Inchiquin, and the town of Youghal, by James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. Also in 1420, he founded the Franciscan friary at Askeaton Abbey.[4]

In 1423 he was made Constable of Limerick for life. In 1445 he was excused attendance at Parliament. Along with his son-in-law Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare, James was a prominent Irish supporter of the House of York.

He was also godfather to George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence.

Dying in 1462 or 1463, Desmond was buried at the Franciscan friary in Youghal.[4]

Marriage and issue

James married Mary, daughter of William de Burgh, and they had issue two sons:

1. Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond
2. Sir Gerald Mor FitzGerald, ancestor of the FitzGerald Lords of Decies of County Waterford

and two daughters:

1. Honor, married Thomas Fitzmaurice., Lord of Kerry
2. Joan/Jane, married Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare

Ancestry

Ancestors of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond

Maurice FitzJohn FitzGerald, son of John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond Joan de Cogan of Carrigaline Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond Margaret de Barry Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw Aveline fitz Nicholas Slany O'Brien James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond Joan FitzGerald, Countess of Carrick James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Eleanor de Bohun Joan de Bohun, Countess of Hereford Eleanor Butler Roger Darcy John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, Justiciar of Ireland Isabel d'Aton Elizabeth Darcy Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster Joan de Burgh Margaret de Burgh

Notes

1. "Villiers-Stuart Collection", University College Cork
2. In earlier works commonly called the 7th Earl of Desmond.
3. FitzGerald of Desmond
4. Ireland and her people; a library of Irish biography, (Thomas W. H. Fitzgerald, ed.), Fitzgerald Book Company, 1910, p. 190 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

References

• Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
• 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. 85