Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond
| Gerald FitzGerald | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gearóid Mac Géarailt c.1533 |
| Died | 11 November 1583 Bóthar an Iarla, Glenagenty |
| Cause of death | killed for ransom |
| Title | Earl of Desmond |
| Tenure | 1558–1582 |
| Nationality | Hiberno-Norman |
| Predecessor | James FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond |
| Successor | Forfeit 1582 |
| Spouse(s) |
Joan Fitzgerald Eleanor Butler |
| Issue |
James FitzGerald (another son, not named in article) Joan FitzGerald Catherine FitzGerald Ellice FitzGerald Ellen FitzGerald |
Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond (c. 1533 – 11 November 1583) was an Irish nobleman and leader of the Desmond Rebellions of 1579.
He was the son of James FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, by his second wife Móre O'Carroll. His father had agreed in January 1541, as one of the terms of his submission to Henry VIII of England, to send young Gerald to be educated in England. At the accession of Edward VI proposals to this effect were renewed; Gerald was to be the companion of the young king.
These projects were not carried out. Claims were made on the Desmond estate by the Butlers, the hereditary enemies of the Geraldines. James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormonde had married Lady Joan Fitzgerald, daughter and heiress-general of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond. On Ormonde's death she proposed to marry Gerald FitzGerald, and eventually did so after the death of her second husband, Sir Francis Bryan. The effect of this marriage was a temporary cessation of hostility between the Desmonds and her son, Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormonde.
Gerald succeeded to the earldom in 1558; he was knighted by the lord deputy Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, and offered homage at Waterford. He soon established close relations with his namesake Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare (1525–1585), and with Shane O'Neill. In spite of an award made by Sussex in August 1560 regulating the matters in dispute between Ormond and the Fitzgeralds, outlaws from each side continued to plunder the other. For some time, Desmond resisted a summons to appear at Elizabeth's court with the plea that he was at war with his uncle Maurice. When he did appear in London in May 1562, his (according to the English) insolent conduct before the privy council resulted in a short imprisonment in the Tower of London.
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