Colonel Richard Fitzgerald (by 1733 – 1776) was an Irish Member of Parliament. He was the fifth son of Gerald Fitzgerald of Coolanawle, Queen's County, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Hartpole, of Shrule Castle in Queen's County. He lived at Kilminchy Castle,

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

, and Mount Offaly,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, 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 gove ...

. He was elected to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for Boyle on 21 October 1763 and sat until his death. He married firstly, Margaret, daughter of James King, 4th Baron Kingston, of

Mitchelstown Castle Mitchelstown Castle, the former home of the Anglo Irish Earl of Kingston, Earls of Kingston, was located in the north County Cork town of Mitchelstown in Ireland. History 15th to 18th century ''White Knights, Dark Earls'' is to date the most ...

and his first wife Elizabeth Meade, daughter of

Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet (1642–1707) was an Irish barrister, judge and politician. He was the first of the Meade Baronets of Balintubber, and an ancestor of the Earl of Clanwilliam, Earls of Clanwilliam. He was unusual among the lawyers of hi ...

. They had one daughter Caroline, who married Robert King, Lord Kingsborough. He married, secondly, Mary, daughter and heiress of Fairfax Mercer, of Fair Hill,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

. Their son Gerald was the father of the New Zealand politician James FitzGerald and Gerard George Fitzgerald. In 1776 Fitzgerald was shot in a duel with his daughter's father-in-law, Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston. His son-in-law Lord Kingsborough succeeded him as M.P. for Boyle.

References

Irish knights

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

1730s births 1776 deaths People from Portlaoise Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Politicians killed in duels Deaths by firearm in Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub