General Notes

REFN: 6593AN
2nd Baron of Offaly; Lord of Lea; Justiciar of Ireland
Lord Justiciar of Ireland 1229; again - appointed Sept. 2 1232 until 1245
'an Brathair' (the friar); died a friar at Yougal
Founded the Franciscan Friary at Youghal and the Dominican Friary at Sligo
Cokayne's Complete Peerage in Dave's Database.
Dave's Database. Utzinger, Dave, Rootsweb's WorldConnect, World Wide We
b: Available: [Online]: (http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?
db=utzing) [30 August 2002].
MAURICE FITZGERALD, son and heir, born circa 1190. He was knighted in Ju
ly 1217. As Maurice FitzGerald, lord of Lea, the younger, he was one of t
he formal witnesses to a covenant of dower made in the great church of Na
as in March 1227. In October 1229 he was summoned to London, to accompa
ny the King's expedition to Poitou and Gascony. He was appointed Justici
ar of Ireland 2 (or 4) September 1232. His good fame was damaged in 12
34 by the report that it was he who (ultimately because the wounded Earl w
as in his care] contrived the death of Richard (Marshal), Earl of Pembrok
e. In February 1234/5 the King wrote criticising FitzGerald's proceedin
gs in office. He was several times summoned to England as justiciar, to gi
ve counsel upon the affairs of Ireland. In 1245 he laid the foundatio
ns of Sligo Castle, and on 4 November of that year was superseded in offi
ce by the appointment of John FitzGeoffrey. The King appears afterwar
ds to have regretted the loss of a councillor saved by distance from parti
sanship on the sore question of his foreign favourites. In 1250 FitzGera
ld was a commissioner of the Treasury, and of the Council [IRL]. In Janua
ry and February 1250/1 he was at Court in England. In January 1253/4 he re
ceived an urgent summons from the King. He is said to have married Julian
e. He died in 1257, at the monastery of Youghal, which he had founded, a
nd was buried there. [CP 10:14-16]