Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly
| Maurice fitz Maurice FitzGerald | |
|---|---|
| Justiciar of Ireland | |
| Spouse(s) |
Maud de Prendergast Emmeline Longespee |
Issue
|
|
| Father | Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly |
| Mother | Juliana |
| Born | 1238 Wexford, Ireland |
| Died | Before 10 November 1286 Ross, County Wexford, Ireland |
Maurice fitz Maurice FitzGerald (1238 – before 10 November 1286) was an Irish magnate born in Ireland; a soldier, and Justiciar of Ireland from 1272 to 1273. His family would come to epitomize the ideal of cultural synthesis in Ireland, becoming More Irish than the Irish themselves, fusing Gaelic & Norman customs in Irish identity.
He was born in 1238 in Wexford, Ireland, one of the sons of Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly and Juliana, whose surname is unknown. He had three brothers, Gerald fitz Maurice II (died 1243), Thomas fitz Maurice (died 1271), David fitz Maurice (died without issue). Maurice was known by the nickname of Maurice Mael (an old word meaning "devotee" in Irish). He was granted his father's lands in Connacht in exchange for quitclaiming the barony of Offaly before 20 May 1257, when his father Maurice fitz Gerald II died at Youghal Monastery. Before his father died, Maurice was custos of Offaly, but after Maurice fitz Gerald II died, the countess of Lincoln, Margaret de Quincy, sued him for custody of Offaly. The next lord of Offaly was Maurice's nephew Maurice fitz Gerald III, son of his elder brother, Gerald fitz Maurice II who had died in 1243. Maurice fitz Gerald III must have been born within nine months of his father's death. Once his nephew was 'full-age', Maurice fitz Maurice and Maurice fitz Gerald III captured the justiciar, Richard de la Rochelle, Theobald Butler IV, and John de Cogan I (whose son was married to Maurice fitz Gerald III's sister, Juliana). The capture of the three magnates led to a private war in Ireland, with the Geraldines on one side and Walter de Burgh and Geoffrey de Geneville on the other. However, the Second Barons' War in England forced them to come to a temporary peace while they battled Montfortians in the English Midlands in 1266. Maurice III, drowned in the Irish Channel in July 1268, was the 3rd Lord of Offaly, and was succeeded by his own son, Gerald fitz Maurice III (born in 1263). Gerald's marriage was sold to Geoffrey de Geneville, who matched Gerald with his own daughter, Joan, but he died childless on 29 August 1287.
In May 1265, Maurice fitz Maurice was among the chief magnates in Ireland summoned to inform King Henry III of England and his son Prince Edward about conditions in the country, and again in June 1265. These were the result of the private war between the Geraldines (Maurice and his nephew, Maurice fitz Gerald III) and Walter de Burgh, lord of Connacht (who was later made the 1st earl of Ulster). Maurice was appointed Justiciar of Ireland on 23 June 1272 following the accidental death of his predecessor, James de Audley on 11 June of that year; his father had served in the same capacity from 1232 to 1245. Maurice himself held the post until September 1273, when he was succeeded by Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, Seigneur de Vaucouleurs.
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