Maurice FitzGerald, 6th Duke of Leinster (1 March 1887 – 4 February 1922), was the eldest son of the 5th Duke of Leinster and his wife, the former Lady Hermione Wilhelmina Duncombe, a daughter of The 1st Earl of Feversham.

Biography

Born at

Kilkea Castle Kilkea Castle is located northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare. ...

and never married but was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, he acceded to the dukedom and its related titles upon his father's death from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...

in 1893, at age 42; his mother died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

in 1895, at age 30. The Duke had three siblings: *A sister (born 1885 – died 5 February 1886) *Lord Desmond FitzGerald (1888–1916) *

Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster, etc. (6 May 1892 – 8 March 1976), known as Lord Edward FitzGerald before 1922, was Ireland's Premier Peer of the Realm. Life Leinster was the youngest of the three sons born to Gerald, 5th Duke of ...

(1892–1976), whose biological father it has been alleged was The 11th Earl of Wemyss. During his minority, his family's large estates in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the count ...

were sold in November 1903 by his trustees to 506 tenant farmers via the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

. Some of the lands had a title dating back to the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

in 1171. The 45,000

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s sold for £766,000, a huge amount at the time, but this had to cover costs, some

mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

and £272,000 that was earmarked to family trusts for the surviving younger children of the 4th duke.

Mental illness and death

The 6th Duke was reported to be in delicate health from childhood onwards and, the day before he turned 21, in 1908, a newspaper observed that he was "little known in London", due to the "careful way in which he has been obliged to live". Actually, the young Duke was, at the time, a patient at Craig House Hospital, a psychiatric institution, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

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 ...

; there he lived in his own villa, attended by a butler, from 1907 until his death in 1922. From 1908 until death John Donald Pollock served as his personal physician and confidant.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leinster, Maurice Fitzgerald, 6th Duke Of Maurice 1887 births 1922 deaths People from County Kildare 19th-century Irish people Dukes of Leinster (1766)