Catherine Celinda Leopoldine FitzGerald, formerly Catherine Lambton, Viscountess Lambton, (born 18 May 1971) is an Irish

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

and

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

. She and her husband,

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director, producer, and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (20 ...

, also operate her ancestral home,

Glin Castle Glin Castle is a Georgian country house and protected structure located along the River Shannon in Glin, County Limerick, Ireland. It was built in the late 18th century to replace an earlier tower house of the same name. The estate has belong ...

, as a small hotel and event venue.

Early life and family

Catherine FitzGerald was born on 18 May 1971. She is a member of the

FitzGerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

, an Anglo-Norman

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

dynasty that originated in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. Her father,

Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin (13 July 1937 – 14 September 2011)
rte.ie; accessed 1 May 2016 ...

, was the last

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

, as the title could only descend in the male line. She has two sisters, Honor and Nesta. Her godfather was

Christopher Gibbs Christopher Henry Gibbs (29 July 1938 – 28 July 2018) was a British antiques dealer and collector who was also an influential figure in men's fashion and interior design in 1960s London. He has been credited with inventing Swinging London, an ...

. FitzGerald grew up at her family's ancestral home,

, in

Glin, County Limerick Glin () is a village in the northwest of County Limerick, Ireland. It is on the south shore of the River Shannon's estuary, on the N69 road between Foynes and Tarbert. The population of the village at the 2022 census was 644. History The ...

. She attended St Mary's Calne and

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

Career

FitzGerald works as a landscape designer and gardener in Ireland and the United Kingdom; she shares a studio with

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

Mark Lutyens in London. She has worked as a freelance writer on landscaping and gardening for '' House & Garden'', '' The Garden'', ''Interiors Magazine'', and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

''. FitzGerald has worked on the gardens at her family's home, Glin Castle, and has also worked on landscaping projects at

Hillsborough Castle Hillsborough Castle is an official British government, government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,

, Lansdowne Crescent, Clarendon Park,

Holland Park Avenue Holland Park Avenue is a street located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London. The street runs from Notting Hill Gate in the east to the Holland Park Roundabout in the west, forms a part of the old west road ...

Glenarm Castle Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the ancestral home of the Earl of Antrim. History There has been a castle at Glenarm since the 13th century, where it resides at the heart of one of Northern Ireland's oldest estates ...

, and St Olav's Church.

Personal life

FitzGerald married Edward Lambton, Viscount Lambton, the future 7th Earl of Durham, on 19 October 1995. They divorced in 2002. She married

, whom she had dated while at Trinity College, on 26 June 2010 in a Catholic ceremony at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. She and West have four children: Dora, Senan (who made his screen debut alongside his father in ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''), Francis, and Christabel. FitzGerald and West own a town house in Shepherd's Bush, London, a home in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

, and share ownership of Glin Castle with her sister.

Glin Castle

In 2011, FitzGerald’s father died. As her father had no male heirs, the hereditary knighthood of Glin became extinct. FitzGerald, along with her mother and sisters, decided to sell the estate through an auction at

Christie’s Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shanghai, and Dubai. It is owne ...

. The castle, which had operated in the hospitality trade, did not sell, so FitzGerald and West, along with FitzGerald's sisters, bought it to keep it in the family. They split their time between Glin Castle and their home in London. FitzGerald and West first operated the castle as a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

and now run it as a hotel and event venue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Catherine 20th-century Irish women 21st-century Irish women 1971 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Normans in Ireland Lambton British landscape and garden designers

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Irish gardeners Irish nobility People from County Limerick Women horticulturists and gardeners