John FitzThomas (c. 1250 – d. 10 September 1316) was an

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

, as 4th Lord of Offaly from 1287 and subsequently as 1st Earl of Kildare from 1316.

Life

He was the eldest son of Thomas FitzMaurice (son of Maurice FitzGerald) and Rohesia de St. Michel. He is noticed in 1291 in a serious dispute with

William de Vesci William de Vesci (c.1125–1184) was an Anglo-Norman feudal lord and Sheriff. Born William fitz Eustace at Knaresborough Castle, Yorkshire, the son of Eustace Fitz John and Beatrix de Vesci, he took his mother's surname. He was appointed Sheri ...

, Lord of

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

, Lord Justice of Ireland, about whom there were many complaints of oppression and neglect of the country's defences. As champion of the complainants John FitzThomas, by then 4th Lord of Offaly (having succeeded to the title in 1287, upon the death of his uncle Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly), their paths crossed and instead of addressing the issues, de Vesci charged FitzThomas with minor charges of slander and

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

, some touching the King himself. FitzThomas appealed to King Edward I of England, who, to examine and judge the matter impartially, summoned them both to London to hear the cases, where it appears FitzThomas had the advantage, challenging the Lord Justice to clear his name by

trial by combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

, which was accepted. However, de Vesci fled to France, whereupon the King pronounced Lord Offaly innocent, and settled upon him de Vesci's lordships and manors of

, Rathangan, &c., which had been forfeited to the Crown. FitzThomas, perhaps inevitably, clashed with the powerful and expansionist magnate Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster. Their quarrel was at its height in 1294-5 when FitzThomas captured de Burgh and imprisoned him at Lea Castle for several months "to the disturbance of the whole land". The

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...

eventually secured de Burgh's release. FitzThomas, though he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

for a number of very serious offences, obtained a

royal pardon In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal prerogat ...

for all of them except those against de Burgh, to whom he was forced to surrender his lands in

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...

. Thereafter he and de Burgh were on reasonably amicable terms, and FitzThomas's eldest son married de Burgh's daughter Joan. In 1296 and 1299 he was summoned to fight for the Crown in the Scottish campaigns of Edward II. With Sir John Wogan, Justiciar of Ireland, and others he went a third time to war in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1301-2.''Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen'', (James Wills, ed.), MacGregor, Polson & Co., Dublin, 1839
/ref> In 1307, with his son-in-law Sir Edmund Butler, he dispersed rebels in

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...

who had razed the castle of

Geashill Geashill () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is situated between the towns of Tullamore and Portarlington on the R420 regional road. Geashill has a Church of Ireland church, a shop and petrol station, a school, a GAA club, two p ...

and burnt the town of

Leix County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

. In 1312 he was sent as General at the head of an army into

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

to suppress armed Irish rebels. On 25 May 1315,

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick ( Norman French: ; mga, Edubard a Briuis; Modern Scottish Gaelic: gd, Eideard or ; – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 s ...

, brother to King

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

of Scotland, entered the north of Ireland with 6000 men, was crowned

King of Ireland King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, and wasted the country. Lord Offaly, among others, commenced vigorous sporadic warfare to resist Bruce, leaving "great slaughter" of Scots and the Irish irregulars in his service. Edward Bruce was eventually defeated and killed in the battle of Dundalk. King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

created Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare by

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

dated 14 May 1316, the year in which he founded the Augustinian priory at Adare,

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

."History", Adare Village
/ref> He died that same year, on Sunday 12 September 1316, at Laraghbryan, near Maynooth and was interred in the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Friary of Clan,

Family

He married Blanche de La Roche, daughter of John de La Roche, Lord Fermoy and Maud Waley (daughter of Henry Waley), by whom he had two sons and two daughters: * Gerald (d.1303) * Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, his successor. * Joan FitzGerald, married in 1302 to Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick. * Elizabeth FitzGerald, married to Sir Nicholas de Netterville, ancestor of

Viscount Netterville Viscount Netterville was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Nicholas Netterville, 1st Viscount Netterville (1581–1654), eldest son of John Netterville of Dowth, County Meath and Eleanor Gernon, daughter of Sir James Ge ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading