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Joan Fitzgerald, Countess of Ormond, Countess of Desmond (Irish: Siobhán Nic Gearailt) (died 1565), was an Irish noblewoman and heiress, a member of the Old English FitzGerald family, who were also known as the "Geraldines".

She married three times. Her first husband was James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, who had been proposed as a bridegroom for Anne Boleyn in 1522 to settle a dispute over the Ormond title and estates. Her second was Francis Bryan, a courtier and lord justice of Ireland. Her third was Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond. With her last marriage she brought a period of peace between the FitzGeralds of Desmond and the Butlers, who were hereditary enemies. After her death her widower resumed the old feud by attacking her son Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond.

During her third marriage she carried on an amicable correspondence with Queen Elizabeth I of England, who recognised Lady Desmond's skill in diplomacy, and relied upon her to restore and keep the precarious peace in southern Ireland.

Birth and origins

Joan was probably born in 1514 in Munster, Ireland. She was the only daughter and heiress of James fitz Maurice FitzGerald by his wife Amy O'Brien. Her father was Earl of Desmond. He is here numbered the 10th, following the second edition of the Complete Peerage, but he is also numbered the 11th. Her father's family were the FitzGeralds of Desmond, a noble cadet branch of the Old English Geraldines, of which the FitzGeralds of Kildare were the senior branch.

Her mother was a daughter of Turlough O'Brien, a pre-reformation bishop of Killaloe (died 1525 or 1526), who had not stayed celibate. Her mother's family were the O'Briens of Ara (County Tipperary), a cadet branch of the O'Briens, kings of Thomond.

By her father, Joan had two younger illegitimate half-sisters who are listed in her father's article.

Father's feuds with neighbours

In the 1520s her father fought his neighbours, the lords of Muskerry in County Cork and the earls of Ormond in eastern Munster. He also quarrelled with his uncle Thomas fitz Thomas FitzGerald, called "the Bald", who sided with his enemies. In September 1520 or 1521 her father was defeated at the Battle of Mourne Abbey, south of Mallow, County Cork, by the allied forces of Cormac Laidir Oge MacCarthy, 10th Lord of Muskerry, and Thomas the Bald.

In December, Muskerry, Thomas the Bald, and Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, besieged her father unsuccessfully in Dungarvan.

Inheritance

Joan FitzGerald's father, the 10th Earl, died on 18 June 1529. According to the Dictionary of Irish Biography he died at Rathkeale, County Limerick, most likely in the Castle Matrix. However, according to older sources he died at Dingle and was buried at Tralee. As the only legitimate child, Joan FitzGerald was heir general, but her granduncle Thomas the Bald, her father's enemy, was heir male and succeeded as 11th Earl of Desmond at the age of 75.

First marriage and children

Joan FitzGerald's first husband was James Butler. He was the eldest son of Piers Butler, who had been in a dispute with Thomas Boleyn, over the estate and title of Ormond after the 7th Earl had died without a son in 1515. Piers Butler had in 1522 proposed his son as bridegroom for Anne Boleyn to settle the dispute. For reasons unknown, the marriage negotiations came to a halt, and Anne later married King Henry VIII of England as his second wife. In 1528 Henry VIII forced Piers Butler to renounce the title of Earl of Ormond and to become Earl of Ossory instead. Joan FitzGerald's new husband was therefore already in the middle of his thirties when he eventually married her in 1530. Her dowry consisted of land in County Tipperary along the boundary between the Desmond and the Ormond possessions, including the manors of Clonmel, Kilfeakle, and Kilsheelan.

James and Joan had seven sons:

1. Thomas (c. 1532 – 1614), Black Tom, succeeded as the 10th Earl of Ormond, married firstly Elizabeth Berkeley; secondly, Elizabeth Sheffield, by whom he had an only daughter Elizabeth Preston, Countess of Desmond; thirdly, Helen Barry
2. Edmund of Cloughgrenan (1534–1602), married Eleanor Eustace, by whom he had issue
3. John of Kilcash (died 1570), married Katherine, daughter of Cormac na Haoine MacCarthy Reagh, 10th Prince of Carbery, by whom he had a son, Walter, 11th Earl of Ormond
4. Walter of Ballynodagh, became the ancestor of the Butlers of Nodstown
5. James of Duiske
6. Edward of Cloughinche, married Mary, second daughter of the Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde, by whom he had issue
7. Piers of Grantstown

After the dramatic fall of the Boleyns, the earldom of Ormond reverted to her father-in-law in February 1538. On 26 August 1539 her husband succeeded as 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory making her a double countess.

On 17 October 1546 Ormond went to dine at Ely House in Holborn, London. He fell victim of a mass poisoning along with his steward and 16 of his servants, possibly at the instigation of Anthony St Leger, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland and a political opponent. Ormond died on 28 October, leaving Lady Ormond a young dowager countess in her thirties. Thomas, the heir, was only 15 and therefore became a ward of the king. She travelled to London to make sure the wardship would be handled gently. As a widow, she could legally act independently and she regained control of her dowry. She administrated her dowry and jointure and played a major role in the affairs of house Ormond.

Second marriage

In August 1548, she was persuaded to marry the English courtier and diplomat Francis Bryan. It is believed the marriage was a political maneuver to prevent Joan marrying her cousin, Gerald FitzGerald, heir to the Earldom of Desmond. Like her, Bryan had already been married once. His first wife had died childless in 1542. The union was not a happy one.

Nonetheless, Lady Ormond claimed the customary right to keep a private army of gallowglasses in Kilkenny, which greatly annoyed Edward Bellingham, who had replaced St Leger as lord deputy of Ireland on 22 April 1548.

The couple returned to Ireland in November 1549 and Bryan was appointed Lord Justice of Ireland on 27 December 1549 replacing Bellingham.

Due to his reputation as a rake and libertine at the English court, Sir Francis Bryan earned the nickname "Vicar of Hell". Joan is quoted as saying,

While I was a widow and not married an Englishman, I defended and kept my own, or at the least, no man went about to defeat me of my right. Well is the woman unmarried; I am bade to hold my peace, and my husband shall have answer made unto him."

Bryan died suddenly on 2 February 1550, at Clonmel while travelling. Apparently he died at table after heavy drinking. Poisoning was suspected by some and a postmortem examination was held. While Bryan lay dying at Clonmel, Joan was allegedly out on a hunting expedition with her second cousin, Gerald FitzGerald. Lady Joan was prevailed upon to wait a year before marrying Gerald.

Third marriage

The precise date of her third marriage does not seem to be known. She did not wait long. Her third husband was her second cousin Gerald FitzGerald. The common ancestor was Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, great-grandfather to both. Gerald was the heir apparent of James FitzGerald, the reigning Earl of Desmond, numbered the 13th. She was about 41 while he was about 17. In 1551 her son Thomas was given livery of the Ormond estate.

The marriage brought about a temporary peace in Ireland between the rival families of Butler and FitzGerald. On 14 October 1558 Gerald succeeded to the earldom becoming the 14th, 15th, or 16th Earl of Desmond depending on the numbering. This made Joan Countess of Desmond. She used her considerable talent for diplomacy to act as a "peacemaker" between her eldest son and her third husband.

Desmond–Ormond feud

Joan maintained a friendly correspondence with Queen Elizabeth, who recognised her ability, and relied on her to restore and keep the precarious peace in Munster after her husband, allegedly tired of Joan's domination over him, broke the truce with her eldest son, Thomas, who had succeeded his father as Earl of Ormond. After the two factions began making raids against one another, Joan spent nearly two weeks journeying back and forth on horseback to arbitrate between the two enemy camps, before a tenuous peace was finally re-established in 1560. In 1562, her husband was sent to the Tower of London for his allegedly "insolent" behaviour before the Privy Council. Joan worked hard to persuade the queen to release him. She was eventually successful and her husband returned to Ireland in November 1563.

In 1560 her intervention secured a peaceful outcome to a stand-off near Tipperary, known as "the battle that never was".

Death and timeline

Lady Desmond died on 2 January 1565 at Askeaton, County Limerick. She was buried at the Franciscan Friary of Askeaton. After her death the relationship between Dermond and Ormond deteriorated rapidly. On 8 February 1565 they fought the Battle of Affane where her Butler son took her widower captive. The ensuing Desmond rebellions earned her widower the sobriquet of "rebel earl" and ended with his forfeiture and killing in 1583.

Notes and references

Notes

1. This family tree is based on graphic trees of the earls of Desmond and Ormond as well as on written genealogies of these families. Also see the lists of children in the text.
2. ^ She might have been born in 1509, or in 1514. The later date is preferred because it agrees better with her father's approximate age, who is known to have been between 30 and 40 years old in 1629, and therefore about 15 in 1509, probably too young.
3. Joan's maternal grandfather must not be confused with his son, also called Turlough O'Brien, who was bishop of Killaloe 1554–1569, appointed during Queen Mary's reign.
4. George Edward Cokayne in error gives a marriage date of 1520, which clashes with the date of 1522 given for his proposed marriage to Anne Boleyn.
5. Cokayne numbers Gerald as the 14th earl of Desmond, whereas Burke just like McCormack (Dictionary of Irish Biography) numbers him as the 15th, whereas Bagwell and James Wills call him the 16th.

Citations

1. Moody, Martin & Byrne 1984, p. 168. "Fitzgeralds Earls of Desmond ..."
2. Moody, Martin & Byrne 1984, p. 169. "Butlers Earls of Ormond ..."
3. Burke 1866, pp. 205–206Genealogy of the earls of Desmond
4. Burke & Burke 1915, pp. 1548–1552Genealogy of the earls of Ormond
5. Eckerle & McAreavey 2019, p. 270, above. "Lady Joan Fitzgerald, Countess of Ormonde, Ossory, and Desmond (1509?–65) The daughter of the Eleventh Earl of Desmond and the wife of three powerful men ..."
6. Holland 1996, abstract, line 4. "... Joan FitzGerald, countess of Desmond and Ormond (c. 1514 – 1565)."
7. Wilson 1912, p. 57. "The Earl himself is from thirty to forty years old, and is rather above the middle height."
9. Cokayne 1890, p. 86. "11. James Fitz Maurice (FitzGerald), Earl of Desmond  ], only surviv. s. and h. ."
10. Wills 1840a, p. 452. "James, the 11th Earl of Desmond"
11. ^ Burke 1866, p. 205, left column, line 53. "James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, who m. Amy, dau. of Turlogh Mac I.Brien Ara, bishop of Killaloe ..."
12. Beresford 2009b, only paragraph, 1st sentence. "FitzGerald, James fitz Maurice (a.1500–1529), 11th earl of Desmond ..."
13. Cokayne 1916, p. 249, line 10. "He m. Amy, da. of Turlogh Mac-1-Brien-Ara, Bishop of Killaloe."
14. Beresford 2009b, only paragraph, last sentence. "... from his marriage to the daughter of Toirdhealbhach Ó Briain (d. 1525), bishop of Killaloe ..."
15. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 361, line 30. "Toirdhealbagh mac Mathghamhna Ó Briain (Theodoricus Thaddaeus) / prov. 19 Sept. 1483 / a. August 1526"
16. Ellis 2014, p. 195. "... was the son of bishop Turlough O'Brien of Killaloe (1483–1526) but this prompts two further observations. Clerical celibacy was widely ignored ..."
17. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 396. "Turlough (Terence) O'Brien / prov. June 1554 / 1569"
18. O'Brien 1949, p. 181. "Brian Ruahd, forty-first king of Thomond was the progenitor of this line."
19. Burke 1866, p. 344, left column. "He defeated the Earl of Desmond in the battle of Cluhar and Morne Abbey, in 1521."
20. McCormack 2009c, 1st paragraph. "In September 1520, at the battle of Mourne, co. Cork, Cormac assisting Thomas fitz Thomas in his bid for the earldom of Desmond, helped to inflict a heavy defeat on James fitz Maurice, now the 11th earl."
21. McCormack 2009b, 1st paragraph. "... in December Thomas, again with the help of Cormac Óg Láidir, joined with Piers Butler, earl of Ossory, in besieging him in Dungarvan, co. Waterford."
22. ^ Beresford 2009b, only paragraph, penultimate sentence. "Desmond died suddenly on 18 June 1529 at Rathkeale."
23. Burke 1866, p. 205, left column. "The earl d. at Dingle 18 June, 1529, and was buried at Tralee."
24. Cokayne 1916, p. 249. "He d. s.p.m. , at Dingle (or Rathkeale), 18 June 1529, and was bur. (with his father) at Tralee.
25. Wills 1840a, p. 453. "He was succeeded in the earldom by an uncle, who had been his enemy."
26. Fraser 1994, p. 121. "It was a question of solving a tricky dispute over the Butler-Ormonde inheritance by promoting the marriage of young Montague to young Capulet instead of banning it ..."
27. Cokayne 1895, p. 146, line 8. "By agreement 17 Feb. 1527/8, above mentioned, he (as heir male) and his cousins, the daughters and co-heirs of the 7th Earl (as heirs general), resigned any rights to the Earldom of Ormond to the King, who accordingly bestowed the same on one of the descendants of the said daughters (as above stated) and who cr. Sir Piers Butler Earl of Ossory ..."
28. ^ Wright 2004, p. 151, right column, line 28. "... in 1530 he married Joan (d. 1565), sole daughter and heir of James Fitzgerald, the late earl of Desmond (d. 1529)."
29. Cokayne 1895, p. 148, line 5. "He m. about 1520 Joan, da. and h. of James (Fitz Maurice FitzGerald), 11th Earl of Desmond  ] by Amy da. of Turlough Mac-I-Brien-Ara."
30. Duffy 2021, p. 156. "Some of these lands included the manors of Clonmel, Kilfeakle, and Kilsheelan "
31. Butler 1929, p. 29. "... seven sons were born by his wife, Joan, daughter and heiress of James, eleventh Earl of Desmond."
32. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 41. "1. Thomas, 10th earl."
33. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 42. "2. Edmund (Sir), Knt. of Roscrea and Cloughgrenan ..."
34. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 57. "John, of Kilcash, to whom his father granted lands ..."
35. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 64. "4. Walter, of Ballynodagh, m. Jane, dau. of O'Brien Goragh, and was ancestor of Butler of Nodstown."
36. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 66. "5. James, of Duisk, m. Margaret, dau. of James Tobin, of Comsinnagh, and had one son, James, who had a grant in fee farm, 10 Aug. 1557, of the Monastery of Duisk, and d.s.p. ."
37. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 70. "6 Edward, of Cloughinche, m. 1st, Lady Eleanor FitzGerald, dau. of James FitzJohn, 14th Earl of Desmond; and 2ndly Lady Margaret Burke, dau. of Richard, 4th Earl of Clanricarde, and had one son."
38. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column, line 75. "7. Piers, of Grantstown, m. Hon. Katherine LePoer, dau. of John, 2nd Lord Power of Curraghmore ..."
39. ^ Burke & Burke 1915, p. 1549, right column. "The earl d. 28 Oct. 1546, from the effects of poison, administered at a supper at Ely House, Holborn, on the 17th."
40. Bagwell 1885, p. 325. "There was such a tendency to depress the Ormonde interest that the widowed countess thought it wise to go to London, where she pleaded her own cause with much success."
41. Holland 1996, abstract, last two sentences. "Joan, in her roles as landowner, household manager, and parent, wielded a powerful influence upon the lives of her tenants, retainers, and children. As a countess, she participated significantly in the world of Irish politics and the British royal Tudor court."
42. Holland 1995, p. x. "The countess was remarried at the Crown's insistence, to an Englishman, Sir Francis Bryan who, in 1549, became lord justice of Ireland."
43. ^ Brigden 2004, p. 382. "Accordingly, in 1548, in order to achieve political security, Bryan married the most powerful widow in Ireland ..."
44. Beresford 2009a, only paragraph, 3rd-last sentence. "The purpose of this political marriage was to prevent the dowager countess marrying Gerald Fitzgerald, heir of the earl of Desmond."
45. Brigden 2004, p. 380. "By March 1522, Bryan was married to Philippa (d. 1542), daughter and heir to Humphrey Spice ..."
46. Edwards 1998, p. 85, line 6. "Within a few months the couple were completely estranged."
47. Bagwell 1885, p. 339. "She claimed the right to keep gallowglasses in Kilkenny, and the Lord Deputy infinitely disliked this practice, which had prevailed for centuries."
48. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 2. "1549, 27 Dec. / 29 Dec. / Francis Bryan L.J. (by council)"
49. Kirwan 2000, p. 297.
50. ^ Burke 1866, p. 205, left column, line 66. "and 2ndly, Sir Francis Bryan, lord Justice, who d.s.p. 2 Feb 1549;"
51. Duffy 2021, p. 165. "By February 1550 Bryan was dead. His excessive drinking led to his demise and he died 'sitting at table leaning on his elbow'."
52. Berleth 1994, p. 81. "Now, while Bryan lay on his deathbed, his wife went hunting with Gerald ..."
53. Edwards 1998, p. 85, line 21. "Thomas was made the recipient of a very unusual crown grant, being given livery of his estates a year early while only twenty years of age."
54. Bagwell 1885, p. 346. "Her marriage took place in the end with beneficial results: for Lady Ormonde was able to keep some sort of peace between her husband and her son, and thus saved much misery and bloodshed."
55. ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 252. "he d. 14 Oct. and was bur. 1 Nov. 1558 at the Franciscan friary at Askeaton."
56. Cokayne 1916, p. 252. "14. Gerald FitzJames (FitzGerald), Earl of Desmond, called the Rebel Earl ..."
57. Burke 1866, p. 206, left column, line 12. "Gerald Fitz-James, 15th Earl of Desmond, called by English writers, 'the Rebel Earl' ..."
58. McCormack 2009a, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence. "Fitzgerald, Gerald fitz James (c.1530–1583), 15th earl of Desmond and reluctant rebel leader ..."
59. Bagwell 1885, p. 377. "Gerald Fitzgerald, sixteen Earl ..."
60. Wills 1840b, p. 11. "Gerald 16th Earl of Desmond"
61. Eckerle & McAreavey 2019, p. 270, below. "She maintained a correspondance with Elizabeth I."
62. Holland 1996, abstract. "Even Queen Elizabeth recognized Joan's skill and called upon her to maintain "the quiet" in Munster while Gerald was sequestered in England."
63. Kathy Lynn Emerson, A Who's Who of Tudor Women retrieved 13 January 2010
64. McCormack 2009a, 3rd paragraph, 8th sentence. "Negotiations continued with senior officials, however, and it was not until November 1563 that he was able to return to Ireland."
65. ^ McCormack 2009a, 3rd paragraph. "The following year the conflict seemed set for a dramatic climax when the two earls gathered their forces, each reputed to have been approximately 5,000 men, near Tipperary town. A bloody battle was prevented by the timely intervention of Gerald's wife, who was also Ormond's mother ..."
66. ^ McGurk 2004, p. 809, left column, line 44. "The death of Desmond's wife on 2 January 1565 ..."
67. Cokayne 1895, p. 148, line 12. "...  d. 1564, being bur. at Askeaton."
68. McGurk 2004, p. 809, left column, line 49. "On 8 February 1565 the two rival armies met at the ford of Affane on the Blackwater in co. Waterford. Desmond was wounded in the thigh and taken prisone ..."
69. Joyce 1903, p. 146. "Desmond, taken unawares, was defeated in a battle fought in 1666 at Affane in the county Waterford, beside the Blackwater, and he himself was wounded and taken prisoner."
70. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 167, line 42. "1536, 23 Feb / - / Leonard, Lord Grey, L.D. (left Ireland Apr. 1540, exec. 28 July 1541)"
71. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 167, bottom. "1540, 7 July / c. 12 Aug. / Anthony St Leger, L.D. "
72. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 43, line 15. "Edward VI ... acc. 28 Jan. 1547;"
73. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 1. "1548, 22 Apr. / 21 May / Edward Bellingham, L.D. "
74. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 3. "1550, 2 Feb. / - / William Brabazon, L.J. (by council)"
75. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 4. "1550, 4 Aug. / 10 Sep. / Anthony St Leger, L.D. "
76. Edwards 1998, p. 85. "Thomas was made the recipient of a very unusual crown grant, being given livery of his estates a year early while only twenty years of age."
77. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 43, line 27. "Mary I … acc. 6 Jul. 1553;"
78. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 8. "1553, 1 Sept. / 19 Nov. / Anthony St Leger, L.D. "
79. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 43, line 41. "Elizabeth I … acc. 17 Nov. 1558;"