William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster
|
His Grace The Duke of Leinster KP PC (Ire) |
|
|---|---|
_-_Portrait_of_William_Robert_Fitzgerald,_2nd_Duke_of_Leinster.jpg)
The Second Duke of Leinster, by Gilbert Stuart
|
|
| Master of the Rolls in Ireland | |
|
In office 1788–1789 |
|
| Preceded by | Richard Rigby |
| Succeeded by | The Earls of Glandore and Carysfort |
| Clerk of the Crown in Ireland | |
|
In office 1795–1797 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir Lucius O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | Lord Glentworth |
| Member of Parliament for Dublin City | |
|
In office 1767–1773 |
|
| Member of Parliament for Kildare Borough | |
|
In office 1768–1769 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1749 London, Great Britain |
| Died |
20 October 1804 (aged 55) Carton, Ireland |
| Spouse(s) | Emilia Olivia St George |
| Religion | Church of Ireland |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Ireland
|
| Service/branch | Volunteers |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit |
 Dublin Volunteers |
William Robert FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, etc. KP, PC (Ire) (12/13 March 1749 – 20 October 1804) was an Irish liberal politician and landowner. He was born in London.
FitzGerald made his Grand Tour between 1768 and 1769. During the same time, he also was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kildare Borough. FitzGerald then sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dublin City until 1773, when he inherited his father's title and estates. He was appointed High Sheriff of Kildare for 1772. Politically he was a liberal supporter of Henry Grattan's Irish Patriot Party and he co-founded the Irish Whig Club in 1789. He controlled about six Kildare members of the Irish House of Commons. In 1779 he was elected Colonel of the Dublin Regiment of the Irish Volunteers.
In 1770 FitzGerald was chosen Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which post he held for two years. He was re-elected for another year in 1777. In 1783 he was among the first knights in the newly created Order of St. Patrick.
In 1788-9 he was Master of the Rolls in Ireland; in theory a senior judicial office, it was then largely a sinecure, but so blatant a choice of a man who wholly unqualified for it gave rise to unfavourable comment, and a few years later it became the rule that the Master must be a lawyer of repute.
FitzGerald was a supporter of Catholic Emancipation and helped to found the Catholic seminary at Maynooth in 1795. Withdrawing from parliament with Grattan in 1797, he moved to England to be with his sick wife and remained there during the 1798 rebellion.
...
Wikipedia