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Sir John FitzGerald of Dromana (c. 1635 – 1662 or 1664) was the last of the FitzGeralds of Dromana. He sat as MP for Dungarvan in the Irish Parliament of 1661–1666.

Birth and origins

John was born about 1635 probably at Dromana, the only son of Gerald FitzGerald and his wife Mabel Digby. His father was esquire of Dromana and styled Lord of the Decies. His family was a cadet branch of the FitzGerald of Desmond, an Irish Old English family. The Dromana branch started when Gerald FitzGerald, the second son of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond (died 1462) was given Dromana as appanage.

His mother was the second daughter of Sir Robert Digby and his wife Lettice Digby, 1st Baroness Offaly. Her family was English and Protestant.

Irish Wars

His father was a protestant like his wife and sided with the government during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the ensuing Irish Confederate Wars. He died in 1643 in his early thirties, probably killed in action while fighting the Confederates. Dromana castle had been lost to the insurgents in 1642 or 1643 when his mother surrendered the castle to them. Murrough O'Brien, 6th Baron Inchiquin retook the castle in April 1647.

First marriage and child

FitzGerald married first in 1658 Katharine, daughter of John Power, 5th Baron Curraghmore and sister of Richard Power, 1st Earl of Tyrone.

John and Katherine had an only daughter:

• Katherine, rich heiress, who married first John Power, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, secondly Edward FitzGerald-Villiers, and thirdly William Steuart

FitzGerald's first wife died on 22 August 1660.

Second marriage

FitzGerald married secondly Helen, daughter of Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty. The marriage was childless.

House of Commons

When Charles II summoned the Irish Parliament of 1661–1666, FitzGerald stood for Dungarvan Bourough and was elected as one of its two representatives.

Death

FitzGerald died in 1662 or 1664.

Notes and references

Notes

1. This family tree is based on genealogies of the FitzGeralds of Dromana and the Powers of Curraghmore.

Citations

1. Burke 1866, p. 561.
2. Cokayne 1895, pp. 285–287.
3. Mackenzie 1907, p. 112. "his son John, at this time about eight years old ..."
4. Burke 1866, p. 204, right column. "II. Sir Gerald More FitzGerald, ancestor of the FitzGeralds of Dromana, County Waterford, Lords of Decies"
5. Burke 1838, p. 462, left column. "2. Mabel m. first to Gerald Fitzgerald, esq. of Dromana, in the county of Waterford; and secondly, to Donagh O'Brien, of Arragh."
6. Bagwell 1895, p. 323, left column, line 14. "Cappoquin and Dromana against which he had cherished designs since 1642 were easily taken. There was a little fighting at Dungarvan ... This was early in May ."
7. Cokayne 1895, p. 286. "He was born about 1599, being 8½ years old in 1607, and was sent to England for education and admitted to the Inner Temple 1614. Having been a lunatic for above 21 years before 1654, he escaped 'transplantation'.&mnsp... He d. 1661."
8. Mackenzie 1907, p. 119. "In 1658 ... John FitzGerald of Dromana ... took unto himself as a wife Katharine, daughter of John Power, 5th Lord Power of Carroghmore."
9. Burke & Burke 1909, p. 1839, line 54. "1. Katherine, m. 1658, John FitzGerald of Dromana, Lord of the Decies, and d. 22 Aug. 1660."
10. Burke 1866, p. 561, line 72. "Sir John FitzGerald, of Dromana, Knt., M.P. for Dungarvan, m. 1st Catherine, dau. of John, Lord Poer, she d. 22 August 1660, and 2ndly Helen, dau. of Donogh MacCarthy; he d. 1 March 1664 ..."
11. ^ Burke 1866, p. 561, line 72. "Sir John FitzGerald, of Dromana, Knt., M.P. for Dungarvan, m. 1st Catherine, dau. of John, Lord Poer, she d. 22 August 1660, and 2ndly Helen, dau. of Donogh MacCarthy; he d. 1 March 1664 ..."
12. Mackenzie 1907, p. 124. "John had no children by his second marriage, and when he died in 1664, his daughter Katherine was left as the sole heiress of all his broad acres."
13. House of Commons 1878, p. 635. "1661 / 11 April / John FitzGerald, esq. / Dromana / ditto "
14. Fuller 1904, p. 11. "To make matters still worse, her father died in 1662."

Sources

• Bagwell, Richard (1895). "O'Brien, Murrough, first Earl of Inchiquin (1614–1674)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLI. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 320–327. OCLC 8544105.
• Burke, John (1838). A Genealogic and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank. Vol. IV. London: Henry Colburn. OCLC 13131620.
• Burke, Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 11501348.
• Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1909). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (71st ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 28297274.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1895). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. VI (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180818801. – N to R (for Power)
• Fuller, James F. (1904). "The Heiress of Dromana, Two Hundred Years ago" (PDF). Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. 2. 10 (61): 10–18.
• House of Commons (1878). Return. Members of Parliament – Part II. Parliaments of Great Britain, 1705–1796. Parliaments of the United Kingdom, 1801–1874. Parliaments and Conventions of the Estates of Scotland, 1357–1707. Parliaments of Ireland, 1599–1800. London: His/Her Majesty's Stationery Office. OCLC 13112546.
• Mackenzie, Thérèse Muir (1907). Dromana: the Memoirs of an Irish Family. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers, and Walker. OCLC 1156362488.

• Anglo-Irish families
• FitzGerald dynasty
• Irish MPs 1661–1666
• Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Waterford constituencies
• Politicians from County Waterford
• 1630s births
• 1660s deaths