Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster (/ˈlɪnstər/;[2][3] Irish: Diúc Laighean[4]) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in the County of Buckingham (1747), Baron of Offaly (c. 1193), Baron Offaly (1620) and Baron Kildare, of Kildare in the County of Kildare (1870). The viscounty of Leinster is in the Peerage of Great Britain, the barony of Kildare in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, and all other titles in the Peerage of Ireland. The courtesy title of the eldest son and heir of the Duke of Leinster is Marquess of Kildare. The Duke of Leinster is the head of the House of Kildare.
This article is about the title created in 1766 for the Earl of Kildare. For the title created in 1691, see Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg.Dukedom of Leinster
26 November 1766[1]
Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke
Edward FitzGerald
(nephew of the present holder)
the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Marquess of Kildare
Earl of Kildare
Earl of Offaly
Viscount Leinster
Baron of Offaly
Baron Offaly
Baron Kildare
The 3rd Duke of Schomberg, General and K.G. (1641–1719), was created The 1st Duke of Leinster in 1691. However, that creation became extinct upon Schomberg's death in July 1719. For the second creation, it was granted to James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, who married to Lady Emily Lennox, the great-granddaughter of King Charles II of the Royal House of Stuart.
The family seat of the current Duke of Leinster is now Oakley Park, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire.[5] He succeeded as 9th Duke of Leinster, 9th Marquess of Kildare, 28th Earl of Kildare, 9th Earl of Offaly, 9th Viscount Leinster of Taplow, 14th Baron Offaly, 6th Baron Kildare, and as the Premier Duke, Marquess and Earl in the Peerage of Ireland.
Earls of Kildare from 1316[edit]
This branch of the Cambro Norman FitzGerald/FitzMaurice 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 letters patent in 1569, as 11th earl. The second (1554-created) earldom became extinct in 1599, although the original earldom survived.
As of 2024, the 9th Duke and Marquess of Leinster and 29th Earl of Kildare is Maurice FitzGerald (born 7 April 1948). A landscape gardener by profession,[14][15] he is the elder son of the 8th Duke and his second wife, Anne.[14] He was educated at Millfield and succeeded to his father's peerages on his death in 2004.[16] On 19 February 1972, as Earl of Offaly, he married Fiona Mary Francesca Hollick. They had three children:[14]
As Maurice FitzGerald's only son died childless in 1997, his brother, Lord John FitzGerald (1952–2015), became heir presumptive to the peerages.[18] He died in 2015.[19] Lord John FitzGerald had two children:
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).[22] 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 County 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. 7. c. 20 (Ir)) “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!"[23] Saint Patrick's Saltire, a red saltire on a white field, may have been adapted from the duke's arms on the 1783 creation of the Order of Saint Patrick, of which the 2nd Duke of Leinster was the senior founder knight.