Katherine Fitzgerald, Lady of Hy-Carbery
| Katherine FitzGerald | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | c.1452 |
| Died | 1506 Castle Salem |
| Title | Lady of Hy-Carbery |
| Tenure | 1477–1506 |
| Known for | Black Lady |
| Nationality | Hiberno-Norman |
| Predecessor | Ellen MacCarthy of Muskerry |
| Successor | Ellen MacCarthy Muskerry, daughter of Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, 4th Lord of Muscry |
| Spouse(s) | Finghin MacCarthy Reagh |
| Issue |
Donal MacCarthy Reagh Donogh MacCarthy Reagh Dermod MacCarthy Reagh Cormac MacCarthy Reagh Ellen MacCarthy Reagh |
| Parents |
Thomas FitzGerald Ellice de Barry |
Katherine Fitzgerald (c.1452-1506) was an Anglo-IrishNoblewoman of the Geraldine's dynasty, during the 15th century. At the time of her birth, her family was one of the most influential houses of Ireland. By her husband, her married name was Mac Carthaigh Riabhach and she becames the princess of Carbery from 1477 to 1506.
For her own pleasure, she erected two castles.
She was the ancestor of many political people including Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States; Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, 63rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Prince Albert II of Monaco; Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
Katherine was probably born in 1452, in the one of the Fitzgerald castles. Katherine was the eldest of their daughters and their third child of the 7th Earl of Desmond by his wife. Her father, Thomas FitzGerald, the one of the most powerful men in Ireland, was Viceroy of Ireland in the reign of Edward IV ; after being the victim of the malice of the Queen Elizabeth Woodville, accordingly to have had an unfortunate speech in reference to her low birth, he was executed at Drogheda, on 15 February 1468. Her mother, Ellice Barry, had issus from the noble house of the Lord of Buttevant (Co. Cork). She has seven brothers and one sister, four of which have acceded to the Earldom of Desmond :
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters described her as "a charitable and truly hospitable woman". It is also mentioned her liking for castles and military strategy that a probable fosterage in McCarthy Muskerry's household may have favored.
Probably between her fifteenth and twentieth year old, probably between 1467 and 1472, after obtaining a plausible papal dispensation because her husband's sister married to her maternal uncle, Katherine becames Finghin MacCarthy Reagh's wife, who was her maternal uncle-by-the marriage. She had mothered four sons and one daughter:
By her husband, her married name was Mac Carthaigh Riabhach and she becames the princess of Carbery from 1477 to 1506. Through her Native Irish marriage, Katherine could bring her own moveable property to her marriage. And she could acquire more, often spend it without her husband's permission and reclaim it on her widowhood.
...
Wikipedia