James FitzGerald, 20th Earl of Kildare

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

FitzGerald, James, 20th Earl of Kildare, and 1st Duke of Leinster, son of preceding, was born 29th May 1722. He laid the foundations of Leinster House, Dublin, saying, when told that it was in an unfashionable part of the town, "They will follow me wherever I go." In consequence of a spirited remonstrance to the King relative to the disposition of the large unappropriated surplus of Irish revenue, he became one of the most popular men in Ireland — a medal being struck in his honour. He was created a Marquis in 1761, and Duke of Leinster in 1766. He died in Leinster House, 19th November 1773, aged 51, and was buried in Christ Church. In 1746 he married Lady Emily Mary Lennox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond, sister of Lady Holland, Lady Louisa Conolly, and Lady Sarah Napier. They had nine sons and ten daughters. She survived the Duke many years, and married William Ogilvy, by whom she had two daughters. She died 27th March 1814.

Sources

202. Kildare, The Earls of, and their Ancestors: from 1057 to 1773, with Supplement: Marquis of Kildare. 2 vols. Dublin, 1858-'62.

Featured Books

An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

See more of our books »

The Ocean Plague: or, A Voyage to Quebec in an Irish Emigrant Vessel is based upon the diary of Robert Whyte who, in 1847, crossed the Atlantic from Dublin to Quebec in an Irish emigrant ship. His account of the journey provides invaluable eyewitness testimony to the trauma and tragedy that many emigrants had to face en route to their new lives in Canada and America. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Irish in America by John F. Maguire provides a substantial and invaluable account of the extreme difficulties faced by pioneer Irish immigrants in North America during the 19th Century. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Scotch-Irish in America tells the story of how the hardy breed of men and women, who in America came to be known as the ‘Scotch-Irish’, was forged in the north of Ireland during the seventeenth century. It relates the circumstances under which the great exodus to the New World began, the trials and tribulations faced by these tough American pioneers and the enduring influence they came to exert on the politics, education and religion of the country.

Show fewer titles