Duke of Leinster

Earls of Kildare from 1316

This branch of the Welsh-Norman FitzGerald dynasty, which came to Ireland in 1169, were initially created Earls of Kildare. The earldom was created in 1316 for John FitzGerald. Two senior FitzGeralds, Garret Mór FitzGerald and his son, Garret Óg FitzGerald served as Lords Deputy of Ireland (the representative of the Lord of Ireland (the King of England) in Ireland). The tenth Earl, Thomas FitzGerald, known as Silken Thomas, was attainted and his honours were forfeit in 1537. In 1554, Thomas's half-brother and only male heir, Gerald FitzGerald, was created Earl of Kildare in the Peerage of Ireland. He was subsequently restored to the original Patent in 1569, as 11th earl. The second (1554-created) earldom became extinct in 1599, although the original earldom survived.

Dukes of Leinster from 1766

The family was originally based in Maynooth Castle in Maynooth in County Kildare. In later centuries the family owned estates in Waterford with their country residence being a Georgian house called Carton House which had replaced the castle in County Kildare. In Dublin, the Earl built a large townhouse residence on the southside of Dublin called Kildare House. When the Earl was awarded a dukedom and became Duke of Leinster, the house was renamed Leinster House. One of its occupants was Lord Edward FitzGerald, who became an icon for Irish nationalism through his involvement with the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which ultimately cost him his life.

Leinster House was sold by the Leinsters in 1815. After nearly a century as the headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society, which held its famed Spring Show and Horse Show in its grounds, Oireachtas Éireann, the two chamber parliament of the new Irish Free State, rented Leinster House in 1922 to be its temporary parliament house. In 1924 it bought the building for parliamentary use. It has remained the parliament house of the Irish state.

The Dukes of Leinster had by the early 20th century lost all their property and wealth. Their Carton House seat was sold (though one of Ireland's most historic buildings with perfectly preserved 18th century grounds, it was controversially turned into a hotel and golf course in the late 1990s by the current owner in an act condemned by environmentalists), as later on was their other residence in Waterford. The family now live in a smaller property in Ramsden, Oxfordshire.

Title dispute

A controversial claim by the supposed descendants of the 5th Duke (largely debunked by Michael Estorick in 1981) was made and failed, with the Lord Chancellor accepting the claim made by the 9th Duke of Leinster.

In 2006, a lawsuit was filed with HMG's Department of Constitutional Affairs by Theresa Pamella Caudill, daughter of Eleanor and Maurice F. “Desmond” FitzGerald, on behalf of her nephew, a California builder, Paul FitzGerald, as claimant to be the rightful Duke of Leinster. FitzGerald purported that he is the grandson of Lord Desmond FitzGerald, the second son of Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Duke of Leinster, who was recorded as having been killed in action during the First World War while serving with the Irish Guards. When Maurice FitzGerald, 6th Duke of Leinster died, mad and childless, in 1922, the Leinster dukedom – and its considerable wealth and lands – devolved upon his youngest brother Lord Edward FitzGerald, who succeeded as the 7th Duke of Leinster. Paul FitzGerald and his supporters claimed that Lord Desmond faked his death and emigrated to California (by way of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) where he lived until his death in 1967. It was further claimed by Mrs Caudill that a package of documents, witnessed by the Prince of Wales and Sir Edgar Vincent, Lord Feversham, had been lodged by her father with the Crown Office of the House of Lords in 1929, and the family had been denied access to them. Mrs Caudill believed the documents included evidence that her father agreed to relinquish the title for one generation but made it clear it was to be passed down to his son, her brother Leonard Fitzgerald. Instead, it was passed down through her father's brother's family. It was alleged that an archivist had acknowledged the package had once existed, but the official line was that it was now lost.

The Baron Falconer of Thoroton, Lord Chancellor (2003–2007), and Harriet Harman, Minister of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs, gave due consideration to this claim. The claim was dismissed by Lord Falconer despite a 30-year campaign by Paul FitzGerald's family reputedly costing £1.3 million. The Lord Chancellor adjudicated that the title was to remain with the existing holder, the 9th Duke, Maurice FitzGerald. Paul FitzGerald has a right of appeal against the Lord Chancellor's verdict by petitioning Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II.

In 2010, however, DNA evidence was presented that indicates that Paul FitzGerald is related to the wife of the 5th Duke, the former Lady Hermione Duncombe.[1] As reported in The Scotsman, "with the help of Dunfermline-based genealogist Lloyd Pitcairn, Mrs FitzGerald Caudill [Paul FitzGerald's aunt] traced Maud Crawford, the grand-daughter of Lady Hermione's younger sister Urica [sic] Duncombe. The results of the tests found that it was '41 times more probable' that Ms Crawford and Paul FitzGerald were extremely closely related than were from different families. The evidence that Paul FitzGerald is related to the family of the 5th Duke's wife is the first DNA evidence ever produced in the case, and may support Mrs FitzGerald Caudhill's long-held claim suggesting that her mysterious father was the son of Lady Hermione, the wife of the fifth Duke of Leinster."[2]

It had also previously been alleged that the 9th Duke′s grandfather, the 7th Duke, was the biological son of the Earl of Wemyss and March. Had this been proven then neither the present Duke, nor any other male descendant of the 7th Duke, would be a legitimate heir of the 1st Duke of Leinster.

Earls of Kildare (1316)

Marquesses of Kildare (1761)

Dukes of Leinster, second creation (1766)

The heir presumptive is the present holder's nephew Edward FitzGerald (born 1988), only son of Lord John FitzGerald (1952–2015)

Line of succession

1. Edward FitzGerald (born 1988) (only son of Lord John)
2. Peter Charles FitzGerald (born 1925) (grandson of Lord Charles FitzGerald, fifth son of the 4th Duke)
3. Stephen Peter FitzGerald (born 1953) (only son of Peter FitzGerald)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Dukes of Leinster derives from the legend that John FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare, as a baby in Woodstock Castle, was trapped in a fire when a pet monkey rescued him. The FitzGeralds then adopted a monkey as their crest (and later supporters) and occasionally use the additional motto Non immemor beneficii (Not forgetful of a helping hand). The motto "Crom A Boo" comes from the medieval Croom Castle and "Abu", meaning "up" in Irish; Crom Abu was the FitzGeralds' medieval warcry. Crom (Croom) and Shanet (Shanid) were two castles about 16 miles apart in Co Limerick, one being the seat of the Geraldines of Kildare, and the other that of the Geraldines of Desmond, whose distinctive war cries were accordingly “Crom-a-boo” and “Shanet-a-boo.” In 1495 an act of Parliament was passed (10 Hen. VII. C. 20) “to abolish the words Crom-a-boo and Butler-a-boo.” The word “Abu” or “Aboo,” an exclamation of defiance, was the usual termination of the war cries in Ireland, as in a' buaidh, "to victory!" Saint Patrick's Saltire, a red saltire on a white field, may have been adapted from the Dukes arms on the 1783 creation of the Order of Saint Patrick, of which the 2nd Duke of Leinster was the senior founder member.