John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond (died 1261) was the son of Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello by his wife Ellinor, daughter of Jordan de Marisco, and sister of Geoffrey de Marisco, who was appointed justiciar of Ireland in 1215.

Cokayne, George Edward George Edward Cokayne, (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911), was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standar ...

,
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 Burke, Bernard,
A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire
'. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204 He was the grandson of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan. Thomas Fitzmaurice, Lord OConnello was the founder of the Desmond line of the FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty and ancestor of the powerful

Earls of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates, s ...

(now extinct), as well as other dynasties, including the modern Green Knights of Kerry and former Black

Knights of Glin The Knight of Glin (; dormant 14 September 2011), also known as the Black Knight or Knight of the Valley, was a hereditary title held by the FitzGerald and FitzMaurice families of County Limerick, Ireland, since the early 14th century. The f ...

. The other extinct Desmond Geraldines are the Lords of Decies and the White Knights. In 1259, FitzThomas received a royal grant of Desmond and west Waterford in fee. Fineen MacCarthy, son of Donal Gott MacCarthy and King of Desmond gathered his troops to oppose this.Curtis, Edmund. ''A History of Ireland'', Routledge, 2005
, p. 75 MacCarthy's forces included the

O'Sullivan O'Sullivan ( ga, Ó Súilleabháin, Súileabhánach) is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. The surname is associated with the southwestern part of Ireland, and was originally found in Count ...

s, whom the Norman incursions into Munster in the 1180s had forced from their original homeland in County Tipperary. They became the chief princes underneath their close kinsmen the MacCarthys. MacCarthy was also joined by the O'Donoghue, also related. In July 1261 the three Gaelic clans joined to face the Normans at the Battle of Callann and won a complete victory. Both John FitzGerald and his son, Maurice FitzJohn, died in the fighting. John FitzGerald was succeeded by his grandson, Maurice's son

Thomas FitzMaurice, 2nd Baron Desmond Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

. The FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice

Marquesses of Lansdowne Marquess of Lansdowne is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1784, and held by the head of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family. The first Marquess served as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Origins This branch of the Fitzmaurice famil ...

, but they descend from the 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 Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...

, who descend from Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond.

Marriages and issue

John was the father of Maurice FitzJohn, who died with him at the Battle of Callan. John was succeeded in his baronial title by Maurice's son,

Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond Thomas Fitzmaurice FitzGerald, 2nd Baron of Desmond (d. 1298), was the son of Maurice FitzJohn FitzGerald and grandson of John FitzThomas FitzGerald from whom he inherited the title. Thomas succeeded to the barony of Desmond, which lay in Mu ...

References

External links

The Battle of Callan, A.D. 1261
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, John Fitzgerald, 1st Baron 1261 deaths Normans in Ireland

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

People from County Cork 13th-century Irish people Year of birth unknown Barons in the Peerage of Ireland