Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare

Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare (c. 1421 – 25 March 1478), was an Irish peer and statesman who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Kildare was the son of John FitzGerald, de jure 6th Earl of Kildare, and Margaret de la Herne. John (nicknamed "Shaun Cam", i.e. John the hump-backed) should have succeeded to the titles and estates of his brother, Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Kildare, but he was unable to establish his rights in face of a rival claim by the 5th Earl's son-in-law, the formidable James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde, and he never obtained possession of his inheritance.

Kildare was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1454, and again between 1461 and 1470. In about 1463 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, a post he held until 1468. By a decree of Edward IV of England he was allowed, as a mark of royal favour, to hold the title of Lord Chancellor for life and continued to receive the salary of the position and exercise some of its functions until his death in 1477.

Thomas was still a young man when he succeeded his father, who died about 1434; it took some years for him to defeat the rival claim to his inheritance by the 4th Earl of Ormonde. He was appointed Deputy to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Richard, Duke of York in 1455. Thomas succeeded in making an Irish Parliament a reality: he assembled parliament four times and got legislative independence for the parliament which assembled at Drogheda in 1460. He was Justiciar of Ireland until 1462.

Both Thomas and his cousin Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond were reasonable and civilised men, who ruled Ireland patriotically. They were joint leaders of the patriot and home rule party. The Earl of Desmond attempted to found a university at Drogheda but failed. In 1468 boh Desmond and Kildare were attainted and their lands forfeited and Desmond was beheaded at Drogheda on 14 February 1468 at the age of 42. Kildare was more fortunate: he escaped to England. Edward IV that discovered Ireland was ungovernable without the support of Kildare, replacing the now deceased Desmond, and Kildare's attainder was reversed. Thomas became Lord Deputy again under George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence from 1470 until his death in 1477. He was deeply concerned for the defence of the Pale, that part of Ireland securely under English rule. He is thought to have been largely responsible for the foundation of the Brotherhood of Saint George, a military guild dedicated to the defence of the Pale, in 1474, and was its first captain.

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