FitzGerald dynasty

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The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the Four Masters as having become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" or Gaels, due to assimilation with the native Gaelic aristocratic and popular culture. The dynasty has also been referred to as the Geraldines and Ireland's largest landowners.[9] They achieved power through colonisation and the conquest of large swathes of Irish territory by the sons and grandsons of Gerald de Windsor (c. 1075 – 1135). Gerald de Windsor (Gerald FitzWalter) was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Wales, and became the male progenitor of the FitzMaurice and FitzGerald Dynasty ("fitz", from the Anglo-Norman fils indicating "sons of" Gerald). His father, Baron Walter FitzOther, was the first Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle for William the Conqueror, and was the Lord of 38 manors in England, making the FitzGeralds one of the "service families" on whom the King relied for his survival.[10] Some of its members became the Black Knights, Green Knights and White Knights.[11]

FitzGerald
Mac Gearailt
Arms of FitzGerald: Argent a saltire gules
Parent houseHouse of Gherardini
Etymology"Son of Gerald"
Place of originIreland and Great Britain
Founded1075; 949 years ago (1075)
FounderGerald de Windsor
Current headMaurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster
Titles
Connected families
Motto
Crom A Boo

("Crom Forever"[5])
Estate(s)
Cadet branchesHouse of Kildare
House of Desmond
House of Leinster
Windsor Castle, a residence of William the Conqueror first held by Gerald de Windsor's father and brother
Carew Castle, initially built by Gerald de Windsor, estate part of Princess Nest dowry
Carton House was the ancestral seat for over 700 years of the Dukes of Leinster

The main branches of the family are:

Overview

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Ireland in 1450, showing the Geraldine earldoms of Kildare and Desmond

The progenitor of the Irish FitzGerald dynasty was a Cambro-Norman Marcher Lord named Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, son of Gerald de Windsor and Princess Nest ferch Rhys, of the Welsh royal House of Dinefwr. Maurice married a daughter of the Norman magnate Arnulf de Montgomery: the Montgomeries, lords of 150 manors and 30 castles, were the most powerful magnates in both England and Normandy, and were of the same family as William the Conqueror.[12][13] His wife's maternal grandfather was the High King of Ireland, Muirchertach Ua Briain (see Arnulf de Montgomery) which may have influenced the important role Maurice played the 1169 Norman invasion of Ireland.

The FitzGeralds claim kinship with the Tudors who descended from the same Welsh royal line as Princess Nest's father, Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth. Consequently, the FitzMaurices and FitzGeralds are cousins to the Tudors (Tewdwrs in Welsh) through Princess Nest and her Welsh family.

In his poetry, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, a cousin of Anne Boleyn, also referred to Countess Elizabeth FitzGerald, (1527–89) as "Fair Geraldine", alluding to her family's Italian ancestry through the Gherardinis of Florence. The FitzGerald dynasty has played a major role in Irish history. Gearóid Mór, 8th Earl of Kildare and his son Gearóid Óg, 9th Earl of Kildare, were Lord Deputy of Ireland in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries respectively. Both married to cousins of Henry Tudor, first monarch of the House of Tudor.

During the Italian War of 1521–1526, James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond, conspired with the Venetians and King Francis I of France, of Château de Chambord, against the Habsburgs, Tudors and Medicis.[14] After the war, he sided once again against England, and allied himself with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the League of Cognac.[15] Another notable rebel was Commander James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, who led the Desmond Rebellions against the Tudors, and negotiated with Catherine de' Medici with the ambition of making her son, Henry III of France, the new King of Ireland.[16] Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond led the Second Desmond Rebellion with the help of the King of Spain, Philip of Habsburg, and Pope Gregory XIII, in an attempt to put on the throne Duke Giacomo Boncompagni.

Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (died 1537), known as "Silken Thomas," also led an unsuccessful insurrection in Ireland, while Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763–1798), the fifth son of the first duke of Leinster, was a leading figure in the 1798 Irish Rebellion against King George III of the House of Hanover. Thomas's half-brother, the 11th Earl, nicknamed the "Wizard Earl", went into exile in Italy, joined the Geraldine League, and became a member of the household of the Duke of Mantua, of the Gonzaga family, and Master of Horse to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.[17][18]

In Irish history, an example of the FitzGerald dynasty becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves" is Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (1335–1398), who was also known by the Irish Gaelic Gearóid Iarla (Earl Gerald).[19][20] Although made Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1367,[20] Gerald wrote poetry in the Irish language, most famously the poem Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh[19] ("Speak not ill of womenkind"). Indeed, although an accomplished poet in Norman French,[20] Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Fitzmaurices and Fitzgeralds of Desmond toward greater use of the Irish language.[19]

Modern times

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Lansdowne House, London seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, was later occupied by William Waldorf Astor, and Hannah de Rothschild of Mentmore Towers.[21] It was also the location of the draft of the Treaty of Paris, which gave independence to the United States.[22]

Many members of the Fitzmaurices also became notable over the centuries, such as William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, the Prime Minister of Britain who negotiated with Benjamin Franklin and secured peace with America at the end of the American War of Independence, or Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, Viceroy of Canada and India,[23] who became a half-nephew of Emperor Napoleon III, a step-grandson of Queen Hortense Bonaparte, and a great-grandson of Talleyrand, connecting the family with the Houses of Beauharnais, Talleyrand, and Bonaparte. The Treaty of Paris (1783), that gave the independence to the United States was drafted from William's home at Lansdowne House, and Henry was made a member of the prominent Brooks's Club, alongside the 8th Duke of Devonshire of Chatsworth House, Prime Minister Lord Rosebery of Mentmore Towers, and Baron Lionel de Rothschild, grandson of Mayer Amschel, founder of the House of Rothschild.[22][21]

The present-day seat of the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann is housed in Leinster House, which was first built in 1745–48 by James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster as the ducal palace for the Dukes of Leinster. The White House in the United States, seat of the U.S. President, was based on Leinster House, and was designed by Irish architect James Hoban for George Washington, who also supervised the U.S. Capitol's construction for Thomas Jefferson.[24][25][26][27] The Dukes were related to the Royal houses of Bourbon, Medici, and Habsburg, among others, as the first Duke married the great-granddaughter of King Charles II of the Royal House of Stuart. Charles's mother, Queen Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, was the aunt of Louis XIV of Versailles, while his grandmother and great-grandmother were the Queens Marie de' Medici and Joanna of Habsburg. The current Duke is Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster, who is also the 9th Marquess of Kildare, 28th Earl of Kildare, 9th Earl of Offaly, 9th Viscount Leinster of Taplow, 14th Baron Offaly, 6th Baron Kildare.

Cambro-Norman origins

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Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, progenitor of the Irish Geraldines, from a manuscript of the Expugnatio Hibernica, an account of the 1169 invasion of Ireland written by Maurice's nephew, Gerald of Wales, in 1189.

The surname FitzGerald is a patronymic of the Norman form, fitz meaning "son". "Fitz Gerald" thus means in Old Norman and in Old French "son of Gerald". Gerald itself is a Germanic compound of ger, "spear", and waltan, "rule". Variant spellings include Fitz-Gerald and the modern Fitzgerald. The name can also appear as two separate words Fitz Gerald.

The earliest recorded use of the patronymic FitzGerald is that of Raoul fitz Gerald le Chambellan, member of the Tancarville family. Raoul was a Norman baron, Chamberlain of Normandy, educator of the young William, future Conqueror of England, and father of William de Tancarville, Earl of Tankerville and chief chamberlain of Normandy and England after the Norman conquest. The eponymous ancestor of the various FitzGerald branches, as well as of the de Barry and FitzMaurice families, was Gerald FitzWalter of Windsor. Gerald was a Norman adventurer who took part in the 1093 invasion of South Wales upon the death in battle of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last king of South Wales.[citation needed]

Gerald was the youngest son of another Norman adventurer, Walter fitz Otho, William the Conqueror's Constable for the strategic military fortress of Windsor Castle, as well as the King's Keeper of the Forests of Berkshire. Domesday Book records Walter fitz Otho as tenant-in-chief of lands formerly held by conquered Englishmen in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and Middlesex. Walter's positions and most of his lands were inherited by Gerald's older brothers, Robert, Maurice, and William, the oldest, ancestor of the earls of Plymouth, while Gerald inherited the estate of Moulsford, now in Oxfordshire, near to Wallingford, where his father owned a fortified house adjacent to those of other powerful Norman authorities.

Nest ferch Rhys ap Tewdwr was the daughter of the last king of South Wales by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. Their grandchildren, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, Raymond le Gros and Philip de Barry were leaders in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Nest's son by her second marriage, Robert FitzStephen, was another participant, as was William de Hay, husband of one of Gerald's and Nest's granddaughters. Nest's grandson (through her son by Henry I of England, son of William the Conqueror), named Meiler FitzHenry, was appointed Lord Justice of Ireland for his cousin, King Henry II of England, member of the House of Plantagenet.

The most renowned of Gerald's and Nest's grandchildren, Gerald of Wales, gave an account of the Norman invasion, as well as lively and invaluable descriptions of Ireland and Wales in the late 12th century. He became Archdeacon of Brecon, serving Archbishop Baldwin of Forde, a past tutor of Pope Eugene III's nephew, and worked with him at recruiting members for the Third Crusade of Richard the Lionheart against Saladin. On many attempts Gerald tried to become the Bishop of St. Davids but failed, despite having met in Rome Pope Innocent III, who would later experienced the Sack of Constantinople. More than twenty works has been produced by Gerald of Wales, and his statue can be seen today in City Hall, Cardiff, in Wales.

Gherardini of Ireland

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The earliest record of the House of Gherardini of Ireland, represented by the FitzGeralds, can be traced back in the year 1413 to the accounts of Lord Antonio d'Ottaviano di Rossellino Gherardini.[28] A priest named Maurice Fitzgerald was of passage in Florence at that time, with a Bishop of the Order of Saint Augustine, and has been able to enter in contact with one of his fellow kinsman, who then introduced him to other members of the Gherardinis.[29] As being part of the Gherardini family that dwelt in the island of Ireland, further exchanges were eventually done by the family to meet again. A letter written in 1440 by the Chancellor of Florence, Leonardo Bruni, one of the associates of Cosimo de' Medici, stipulated that Giovanni Betti di Gherardini, a representative of the family, was sent to Ireland to become acquainted with his other kinsmen from the Geraldines of Ireland, the Earls of Kildare.[30]

Confirmed as well in 1507 by the Viceroy of Ireland, Gerald Fitzgerald, to Giovanni Manni, a Florentine merchant in passage to Ireland.[31][32][17] Gerald Fitzgerald's letters were signed as "Gerald, Chief in Ireland of the family of the Gherardini".[33] His son, the 9th Earl of Kildare, was also known as Lord Garrett, which translates as Signore Gherardini in Italian, and was married to Elizabeth Grey of the Royal House of Grey, a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.[34] A letter written in 1566 by Girolamo Fortini, who was married to a daughter of Antonio Gherardini from Florence, to his brother in London, also stated that the Earl of Kildare was of the same family.[35]

Cristoforo Landino, tutor of Lorenzo de' Medici, stated in his preface of the Divine Comedy (Comedia) of the famous poet Dante Alighieri, that the descendants of Tommaso, Gherardo, and Maurizio Gherardini[36] were the ancestors of the Earls of Kildare and Earls of Desmonds, and went on to Conquer Ireland[37] with the King of England.[38][39] The Divine Comedy was first launch at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The English poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, user of the sonnet form that would later be used by William Shakespeare, also referred to the ancestral seat of the Geraldines in Florence in his poem Description and praise of his love.[40]

Since the 15th century, the FitzGeralds and the Gherardinis are known to be in touch and to acknowledge their kinship.[41][30][42][17] A 2014 cover story published by "Sette", the Italian weekly magazine of Corriere della Sera, was an article dedicated to the Gherardini family of Montagliari and their relationship with the FitzGerald Family as well as with the Kennedy family. According to the magazine, the three families have maintained relationship among them even in recent times or in the past (for example with American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy).[43][42] The link with the Kennedy family came from the Earl of Desmond branch, and can be seen on the coat of arms granted to John FitzGerald Kennedy by the Chief Herald of Ireland.

Major houses

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Arms of the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, Viscounts of Leinster, by Charles Catton (1790)
 
Fitzgerald family seal engraved on a signet ring from 1616
 
Adare Manor, granted during the 13th century to the Earls of Kildare, was lost by Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare

House of Kildare

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Lords of Offaly

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Earls of Kildare

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16th-century woodcut of an attack on Dublin Castle by "Silken Thomas", 10th Earl of Kildare

Marquesses of Kildare (1761)

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Dukes of Leinster, second Creation (1766)

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Leinster House, former ducal residence in Dublin of the Duke of Leinster
Other titles: Marquesse of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in the County of Buckingham (GB 1747) and Lord of Offaly (c. 1193–?)
Other titles (4th Duke onwards): Baron Kildare (UK 1870)

House of Desmond

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Lismore Castle, in the possession of the Earls of Desmond until the downfall of Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond

The line of the Earls of Desmond has been extinct since the 17th century. Their branch of the dynasty continues only in their distant collateral kinsmen, Ireland's hereditary knights (for whom see section below).

Barons Desmond (1259)

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Earls of Desmond, First creation (1329)

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Carrigafoyle Castle, a Desmond Geraldine stronghold during the Second Desmond Rebellion, captured by the English in 1580

16th Earl of Desmond, appointed by Hugh O'Neill (1598–1601)

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Earls of Desmond, Second creation (1600)

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Newnham Paddox House, seat of the Earls of Desmond and Earls of Denbigh since 1433, title inherited in the female line, granted to Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond

Lords of Decies

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FitzMaurice of Kerry

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Cliveden House, estate of Countess FitzMaurice, sister-in-law of Prime Minister Lord Shelburne, Marquess of Lansdowne

The closely related FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne, but they descend from John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond's nephew, Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, son of his brother Maurice FitzThomas. Thus in fact they represent a "sister" branch to the FitzGeralds of Desmond. However this technically makes them slightly closer to the FitzGeralds of Desmond than either are to the Offaly-Kildare-Leinster Geraldines, represented by the modern Dukes of Leinster, who descend from Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond.

House of Corsygedol

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The House of Corsygedol (Vaughans) is a branch of the Lords of Desmond, now Earls of Desmond, and was founded by Osborn Wyddel (Fitzgerald-Osbourne), a descendant of Gerald de Windsor.[44][45][46][47] Wyddel, c. 13th century arrived in Wales (Kingdom of Gwynedd) from Ireland with Prince Llywelyn the Great and was granted estates and arms, he married a ward of Llywelyn, who was also an heiress of the Corsygedol and Plas Hen estates in Gwynedd. They flourished in North Wales for centuries, by the 18th century, their Corsygedol estates were inherited by the Mostyn baronets family through marriage.[46][48]

Its cadet branches are the House of Yale (Yale family) of Plas-yn-Yale, and the Hughes of Gwerclas of Gwerclas, native royal families of the Mathrafal dynasty.[49][50] Their coat of arms are those of Osborn Fitzgerald ; viz. erm. on saltire gu. a crescent or. Crest is a wild boar in a toil.[51][47]

Hereditary knights

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These three hereditary knighthoods were created for their kinsmen by the Earls of Desmond,[52] acting as Earls Palatine.

Legacy

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Saint Patrick's Saltire
 
Badge of USS Fitzgerald
 
The Flag of the United Kingdom, incorporating St. Patrick's Saltire

According to the 1890 Matheson report, Fitzgerald/FitzGerald was the 36th most common surname in Ireland.[53]

Fitzgerald/FitzGerald is the 692nd most frequent surname in the United Kingdom.[54] The surname occurs most frequently in the following ten counties, in descending order, with the number of occurrences in parentheses: "1. Greater London, (500), Greater Manchester (191), West Midlands (176), Lancashire (130), Kent (118), Essex (117), West Yorkshire (113), Merseyside (108), Hampshire (84), and Surrey (76)."[54]

"Fitzgerald" (including "FitzGerald," as the survey was not case-sensitive),[55] was the 390th most common surname in the 2000 United States census.[55] 73,522 Fitzgeralds were counted, with 27.25 Fitzgeralds per 100,000 members of the population.[55] Respondents surnamed Fitzgerald had self-reported ethnicities of 88.03% non-Hispanic white only, 8.44% non-Hispanic black only, 0.32% non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander only, 1.28% non-Hispanic Asian only, 1.43% of two or more non-Hispanic races, and 1.43% Hispanic.[55]

The FitzGerald dynasty was the subject of a poem called "The Geraldines" by Thomas Osborne Davis, the chief organizer and poet of the nationalist Young Ireland movement. The ill-fated romance of Thomas FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Desmond with Catherine MacCormac was the subject[56] of the air "Desmond's Song"[57] by the Irish poet Thomas Moore.

Saint Patrick's Saltire, sometimes used to represent Ireland in modern flags, may have derived from the arms of the Geraldines.[58]

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald in the United States Navy is named for Lieutenant William Charles Fitzgerald, USN. The Fitzgerald family coat of arms (a white shield with a red saltire) provides the foundation for the coat of arms for USS Fitzgerald.

A variety of people, places, and businesses bear the name FitzGerald or Fitzgerald, including the FitzGerald crater on the far side of the Moon, named for physicist George FitzGerald.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Milo Fitzgerald, Baron of Enisnag".
  2. ^ a b "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 22 De Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". 1892.
  3. ^ John O'Hart (1892). "irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation, volume 1, 5th edition". Library Ireland.
  4. ^ Dr Bertie George Charles, (1908–2000). "FITZGERALD, MAURICE (died 1176), one of the conquerors of Ireland". Dictionary of Welsh Biography.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ A Hand-book of Mottoes Borne by the Nobility, Gentry, Cities, Public Companies, &c. Bell and Daldy. 1860. p. 35. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  6. ^ Fitzgerald, Walter 'The history of Morett Castle and the Fitzgeralds', Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society IV 1903-5 285-96 National Library of Ireland
  7. ^ a b McCarthy, John K. "Castles in Space: An Exploration of the Space in and Around the Tower Houses of South-East Kilkenny by John K McCarthy".
  8. ^ "Ireland's Own – E-zine issue 5799, Galway through the ages". Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  9. ^ Pakenham, Thomas (24 September 2015). The Year Of Liberty: The Great Irish Rebellion of 1789 by Thomas Pakenham. Little, Brown Book. ISBN 9780349141954.
  10. ^ Maund, Keri (2007). Princess Nest of Wales. Stroud, GL5 2QG: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780752437712.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ Graves, James, and Samuel Heyman, editors. "Unpublished Geraldine Documents, The Whyte Knight." The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, vol. IV, pg 37. Dublin University Press, Ireland. 1885, p. 3-27-37
  12. ^ Sir Burke, Bernard, C.B. LL.D. A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, new edition, (1866), p. 204, [author states, "Maurice FitzGerald by his wife Alice, dau. of Arnolph de Montgomery (by his wife Lafracoth, dau. of Murrough O'Brien, King of Munster) he had issue,"].
  13. ^ C. Warren Hollister (2003). Henry I : The English Monarchs Series. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. ISBN 0300098294. : page 155
  14. ^ D.B Quinn, 'English Policy in Irish Affairs, 1520-34', 665
  15. ^ 9D.B Quinn, 'Henry VIII and Ireland, 1509-1534', 323-324
  16. ^ Dunlop, Robert (1889). "Fitzgerald, James Fitzmaurice (d.1579)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. pp. 125–126.
  17. ^ a b c Joachim Eibach (Bern) (2012). Gerald Power, A European frontier elite: the nobility of the English Pale in Tudor Ireland, 1496-1566, The Formation of Europe Historische Formationen Europas Vol. 4 | Band 4, Wehrhahn Verlag, p. 24
  18. ^ Moore, T. "The Romantic Wanderings of Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare." The Irish Monthly, vol. 46, no. 542, 1918, pp. 433–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20505105. Accessed 13 Aug. 2023. p. 446
  19. ^ a b c "Gearóid Iarla FitzGerald (1335–1398)". Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ a b c Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: 1878.
  21. ^ a b Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square, London, Mark Meredith, 2020
  22. ^ a b Ritcheson, Charles R. (August 1983). "The Earl of Shelbourne and Peace with America, 1782–1783: Vision and Reality",The International History Review
  23. ^ Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th marquess of Lansdowne, British diplomat, Encyclopedia Britannica
  24. ^ James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House, The White House Historical Association, Stewart McLaurin, 2021
  25. ^ The Impact of Ireland's Architects, from the Pritzker Prize to the White House, Architect Features, Niall Patrick Walsh, Mars 17, 2022
  26. ^ B. Philipp Bigler (2023). James Hoban, Irish architect, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Arts & Culture, Article History
  27. ^ Leinster House, The White House Historical Association, James Malton, 1792, British Library Board.
  28. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. pp. 247–257. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  29. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. p. 247. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  30. ^ a b Sir John Thomas Gilbert (1865). History of the Viceroys of Ireland: With Notices of the Castle of Dublin and Its Chief Occupants in Former Times. James Duffy. pp. 334–336. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  31. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. pp. 247–248. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  32. ^ Sir John Thomas Gilbert (1865). History of the Viceroys of Ireland: With Notices of the Castle of Dublin and Its Chief Occupants in Former Times. James Duffy. pp. 473–474. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  33. ^ Sir John Thomas Gilbert (1865). History of the Viceroys of Ireland: With Notices of the Castle of Dublin and Its Chief Occupants in Former Times. James Duffy. pp. 473–474.
  34. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. p. 249. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  35. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. p. 249. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  36. ^ Fitzgibbon, A. (4 August 1877). "Appendix to the Unpublished Geraldine Documents: The Gherardini of Tuscany" (PDF). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. 4 (29): 246–263–264. JSTOR 25506713.
  37. ^ According to a study carried out by Enrico Faini of the University of Florence, there were about ten old aristocratic families who moved to Florence from 1000 and 1100: Amidei; Ardinghi; Brunelleschi; Buondelmonti; Caponsacchi; Donati; Fifanti; Gherardini of Montagliari; Guidi; Nerli; Porcelli; Scolari; Uberti; Visdomini. See: Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur and Andrea Zorzi ("Il gruppo dirigente fiorentino nell'età consolare" n "Archivio Storico", CLXII (2004), p. 210.
  38. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. pp. 247–263. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  39. ^ "The earls of Kildare and their ancestors" by the Marquise of Kildare. Hodges, Smith & Co., Dublin 1858; "La leggenda dei tre Valdesani conquistatori dell'Irlanda", V. Uzielli, Firenze 1906. To see also: "I Gherardini ed il Castello di Montagliari" C. Corazzini, Firenze, 1898 and for a summary of the documentation available in the archives, see "Unpublished Gherardini documents" by Samuel Hayman
  40. ^ Sir John Thomas Gilbert (1865). History of the Viceroys of Ireland: With Notices of the Castle of Dublin and Its Chief Occupants in Former Times. James Duffy. p. 612. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  41. ^ Ponsonby and Murphy (1879). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland. Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. pp. 246–247. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  42. ^ a b Dublin, Trinity College. "Contribution of Fitzgerald Dynasty Examined at Conference". tcd.ie.
  43. ^ Sette, Corriere della Sera, 28 March 2014, n.13. Cover: "Kennedy, l'Italiano". Title of the article at page 28: "Dall'America a Firenze passando per l'Irlanda. Così andando a ritroso fino ai "figli di Gerald" abbiamo ritrovato Kennedy "l'italiano".
  44. ^ Archaeologia Cambrensis, Index to 'Archaeologia Cambrensis', 1901-1960. Vol. 8. 1846. p. 405.
  45. ^ "The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time". 1884. p. 355.
  46. ^ a b Philip Yorke (1887). "The royal tribes of Wales; To which is added an account of The fifteen tribes of north Wales. With numerous additions and notes, preface and index". Liverpool I. Foulkes. pp. 16–17.
  47. ^ a b The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Biographical, The American Historical Society, New York, 1920, p. 51-52
  48. ^ Davies, William Llywelyn. "Vaughan family of Corsygedol, in the parish of Llanddwywe, Meironnydd". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  49. ^ Sir Bernard Burke (1886). "A Genealogical History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland". Harrison and Sons, Pall Mall, Voll II. 7th edition. p. 2060. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  50. ^ Burke, Bernard (1852). "A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852". pp. 1662–1663.
  51. ^ Burke, John; Burke, Bernard (1844). "Encyclopædia of Heraldry: Or General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Comprising a Registry of All Armorial Bearings from the Earliest to the Present Time, Including the Late Grants by the College of Arms".
  52. ^ John O'Donovan, "The Descendants of the Last Earls of Desmond", Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Volume 6. 1858.
  53. ^ "The 100 Most Popular Surnames in Ireland". ireland-information.com.
  54. ^ a b "Free Family Tree, Genealogy, Family History, and DNA Testing". MyHeritage. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. [dead link]
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