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The History of the "Fitzgerald" Name Maurice Fitz Gerald was one of the original invaders of Ireland in 1169. He was a native of the colony of Pembroke in Wales and was the son of Gerald fitz Walter, constable of Pembroke from about 1097 onwards, whose castle was at Carew. This Gerald was the son of a Norman who had come over in 1066 with King William. From Maurice’s brother William descend the Carew family while from his other brother David, bishop of St Davids in Wales, come the FitzGeralds, barons of Brownsford in County Kilkenny. Maurice himself had six sons, all of whom obtained lands in Ireland. Four of these left descendants: Thomas, ancestor of the Geraldines of Desmond, Gerald, ancestor of the Kildare Geraldines, Maurice, ancestor of the Geraldine barons of Burnchurch in County Kilkenny, some of whose descendants style themselves Barron, and Robert who settled on lands in County Kerry and whose great-grandson Maurice is the ancestor of the Kerry FitzMaurices. One of the early FitzMaurices was Piers, ancestor of the Kerry Pierses. The later Geraldine Earls of Desmond and Kildare, among the most powerful of Ireland’s medieval magnates, were virtually lords of independent mini-kingdoms, generously populated with various descendants, legitimate and otherwise. The Desmonds were particularly prolific. As early as the mid-thirteenth century John fitz Thomas is recorded as siring four illegitimate sons, each allegedly by the wife of a different native chieftain, three of whom were prolific themselves. From Gilbert descended the later FitzGibbons of Cork and Limerick, John was ancestor to the Knights of Glin, County Limerick, while Maurice was ancestor to the later and numerous Kerry Geraldine family whose chief is known as the Knight of Kerry. Other later offshoots of the main-line included several FitzGerald families whose lands were located in Counties Waterford, Cork and Limerick while from the Knights of Kerry descended a nest of FitzGerald gentry families whose lands were located in south-east County Cork between Youghal and Midleton. By around the year 1600 in the Counties of Kerry, Limerick, Cork and Waterford we find approximately 150 FitzGerald and FitzGibbon landowning families claiming descent from Thomas son of the first Maurice FitzGerald. These in turn must be the ancestors to the many such families found in these counties today. Explanation: Origin: Irish
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