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valiant, affable, and having all the quali- fications belonging to a gentleman, he was passionate and covetous. He conformed to the Protestant religion in the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth." ■" ^-
FitzGerald, Henry, 12th Earl of Kildare, second son of preceding, was born in 1562. He was called " Henry na Tuagh" — " of the battle-axes." Espousing the Anglo-Irish side in the wars with Hugh O'Neill, he was wounded in a skirmish on the Black water, July 1597. Brought to Drogheda, he died there on 30th Septem- ber (aged about 35) from the effects of the wound and through grief for the death of his two foster-brothers, O'Conors, who had been slain by his side. He was buried in St. Bridget's Cathedral, Kildare. His wife was Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Nottingham. ^■
FitzGerald, William, ISth Earl of Kildare, brother of preceding, was born about 1563. Eeturning from a visit to England in March 1 599, prepared to accom- pany the Earl of Essex in the war against O'Neill, he perished at sea with " eighteen of the chiefs of Meath and Fingall." ^^
PitzGerald, Gerald, 14tli Earl of Kildare, grandson of the 9th Earl, suc- ceeded on the death of his cousin in 1 599. He was well affected towards the Crown, and occupied several positions of trust. He died nth February 1 6 1 2, and his obsequies were solemnized at Maynooth ; but his remains were not buried at Kildare until November. He married Elizabeth Nugent, daughter of Lord Delvin. ^^
FitzGerald, Gerald, 15th Earl of Kildare, son of preceding, was born 26th December 161 1, and was only six weeks old at the time of his father's death. He was given in ward to the Duke of Lennox, with an order from the King that he should be married to the Duke's granddaughter. This plan was frustrated by his early death at Maync^th, nth November 1620, aged 8. He was buried at Kildare. ^"^
FitzGerald, George, 16th Earl of Kildare, great-grandson of 9th Earl, born January 161 2, was known as the "Fairy Earl," apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, still extant, was painted on a small scale. Given in charge to the Earl of Cork, he, when but eighteen, mar- ried the Earl's daughter, Lady Joan Boyle. The castle of Maynooth, which had fallen into decay on the death of the 14th Earl of Kildare, was restored and improved for him by his guardian. In 1638 he was committed to prison for refusing to submit the title-deeds of his estates to the Earl of Strafford. He took the Anglo-Irish side in the War of i64i-'52, and suffered much 190
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in estate — Maynooth Castle being pillaged and dismantled by the Confederates. After Cromwell's landing in 1649, his regiment was with many others disbanded. He died in 1660, aged about 48, and was buried at Kildare. ^'
FitzGerald, Wentworth, 17 th Earl of Kildare, son of preceding, was born in 1634. He died 5th March 1664, aged 30, and was buried in Christ Church, Dublin. =°=
FitzGerald, Hobert, second son of the 1 6th Earl of Kildare, and father of the 1 9th Earl, born August 1637, was an active pro- moter of the restoration of Charles II. He received estates, and many offices of trust and emolument were conferred upon him. Opposing James II.'s Irish policy, he was deprived of his lands and was for a time confined in Trinity College with about fifty other persons of distinction. When the news of the battle of the Boyne arrived, he was released, and exerted himself to pre- serve Dublin from pillage before its sur- render to William III., exhibiting the greatest nerve and executive capacity. On the 6th July, when William entered Dub- lin in state, it was FitzGerald that present- ed him with the keys of the castle and city. The King returned them, saying : " Sir, they are in good hands, you deserve them weU and may keep them." He was shortly afterwards restored to all his estates and oflices of trust, and reappointed on the Privy-Council. He died 31st January 1699, aged 61. He was the author of a work extolling the benefits of salt water sweetened (Lond. 1683), and of A Full and True Account of the late Revolution in Dub- lin (Lond. 1690). =°^
FitzGerald, John, 18th Earl of Kildare, son of the 17th Earl, was born in 1 66 1, died in 1707, aged about 46, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In 1683 the degree of D.C.L. was conferred upon him by the University of Oxford. In 1689 his estates, of the annual value of £6,800 in Ireland, and .£200 in England, were sequestered by -lames's Irish Parlia- ment. He sold the family lands of Adare and Croom to pay off incumbrances on his other property. ^-
FitzGerald, Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, grandson of the 1 6th Earl, was born in 1675. H^ died 20th February 1744, aged 68, and was interred in Christ Church. Finding Maynooth Castle too much dilapidated to be restored, he pur- chased Carton, the present seat of the family. He is said to have been " ex- tremely formal and delicate, insomuch that when he was married to Lady Mary O'Brien, one of the most shining beauties
