Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare

Alfred Webb

1878

FitzGerald, Thomas, 2nd Earl of Kildare, succeeded his father in 1316. In 1317 he took the field at the head of an army of 30,000 men against Edward Bruce, who was slain the following year near Dundalk. FitzGerald held the office of Lord-Justice more than once. During his lifetime Ireland continued to be torn by contending factions. The Earl introduced into his territories the Irish exaction of "bonaght," or "coigne and livery" — money and food for man and horse without payment, as did the Earls of Ormond and Desmond into their palatinates. He died at Maynooth, 9th April 1328, and was buried in the Grey Abbey at Kildare.

Sources

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

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