FitzGerald, Maurice fitz Thomas (1293–1356), 1st earl of Desmond , magnate and justiciar of Ireland, was the second son and eventual heir of Thomas fitz Maurice FitzGerald (qv) (d. 1298), lord of Decies and Desmond, and Margaret, daughter of Thomas of Berkeley. His elder brother, Thomas fitz Thomas FitzGerald, survived their father but died probably in 1308. On 5 April 1314 Maurice fitz Thomas attained his majority, swore fealty to Edward II, and was granted livery of his lands. He was almost certainly active against the Scots and their Irish allies during the invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce (qv), though his activities have left few footprints in the records. In order to ensure his loyalty, Edward II pardoned his debt to the crown of 1,000 marks in 1315. He was present at the inconclusive engagement with the Scottish army at Skerries in January 1316. Later that year he was accused of making unsanctioned treaties with the Irish of Munster, but a jury absolved him of that charge and added that he had done so to preserve the peace in Co. Limerick. The following year he formed part of the army raised by the justiciar, Edmund Butler (qv), to campaign against Bruce in Munster.
After the death of Richard de Clare (qv) in 1318 fitz Thomas received temporary custody of the extensive Clare estates in Thomond and in Youghal and Inchiquin in Co. Cork; henceforth it was this custody and his claims over it that most often led him into conflict with the king in England and the administration at Dublin. It was around this time that he formed his close and lasting association with Brian Bán O'Brien (qv) and campaigned with him in Thomond. In May 1321 he and his retinue, which became known as ‘McThomas's rout’, plundered and burned parts of west Cork, in particular the holdings of the Roches, in an attempt to impose his authority in Munster. In August 1323 he was one of those magnates informed of the possible arrival of Roger Mortimer (qv) in Ireland and was ordered to do all in his power to arrest Mortimer or disrupt his activities. The following May he attended the first parliament convened by John Darcy (qv) at Dublin, and there, along with all the Anglo-Irish lords present, he swore to discipline his followers and kinsmen.
In 1325 fitz Thomas began his bloody conflict with Arnold le Poer (qv), the cause of which is obscure, though it may have been connected with fitz Thomas's continuing occupation of the Clare inheritance: as late as April 1324 he was still occupying Bunratty castle. It was also reported that Poer had made insulting reference to fitz Thomas as a ‘rhymer’ – that is, an Irish bard and troublemaker. In June 1325 the two men were ordered by the justiciar not to attack each other. Later that year both parties sent representations to be heard before the king's council in England. According to an inquisition taken in 1331, fitz Thomas and his forces stormed Bunratty (which he had evidently lost control of the year before), captured the castle's constable, and gouged out his eyes and pulled out his tongue. In February 1326 the justiciar was forced to lead an expedition to Munster to put down the open warfare between Poer and fitz Thomas, though by July a temporary accommodation had been arranged between them.
In the chaos following the deposition of Edward II and Mortimer's accession to power, fitz Thomas and others were warned against illicit gatherings. In all probability he was preparing to renew hostilities with Poer, but it is also possible that he was aware of the rumours that Edward II had escaped and was fleeing to Ireland, and was ready to support the beleaguered king. The next year he found himself completely isolated from the favour of the new English court because of his occupation of the Clare lands and his refusal to hand them over to the Clare heiresses, whose husbands were Mortimer allies. He was written to by Mortimer and upbraided for his refusal to obey the mandates of the justiciar, and was reminded of the dangers of disobedience and the rewards available to loyal subjects. Despite this reproof he attacked Arnold le Poer again that autumn and was supported by William de Bermingham (qv). The Poers fled to Waterford and Arnold went to England to complain of fitz Thomas's aggression. The Poer lands in Munster were completely ravaged, though fitz Thomas and his allies consistently maintained they were not acting against the interests of the crown and were prepared to meet the justiciar at Kilkenny to renew their oaths of fealty.
Juries that held inquisitions in 1331 to investigate the disturbances in Munster in the late 1320s vividly described many of fitz Thomas's actions during this period. According to one such inquisition, fitz Thomas and a number of other leading magnates in Ireland, including John Bermingham (qv), earl of Louth, his brother William, the future earl of Ormond James Butler (qv) (d. 1338), Richard Ledrede (qv), bishop of Ossory, Brian Bán O'Brien, and Thomas fitz John (qv), earl of Kildare, met at Kilkenny in the summer of 1327. The purported aim of this meeting and the confederacy formed there was to rise in rebellion against the English king, assert their collective control over Ireland, and make Maurice king. Though a meeting of those lords may have taken place, this inquisition and its stories of conspiracy should be treated with some scepticism. Indeed, the far-fetched tale of Maurice's ambitions towards the crown of Ireland and the support of so many magnates for such a scheme should probably be ignored. However, the inquisition does demonstrate the hostility of many in Munster, particularly the townsmen, towards fitz Thomas and his retinue. In June 1328 the English council addressed letters to fitz Thomas and other Anglo-Irish lords. In the most strenuous of terms all were ordered to stop attacking one another, and the availability of royal justice to mediate their disputes was highlighted. The mandate achieved little: open warfare continued in Munster between the Poers and fitz Thomas.
In April 1329 the justiciar, Roger Outlaw (qv), held a parliament at Dublin, where he managed to achieve some reconciliation between the factions, notably fitz Thomas and the recently arrived William de Burgh (qv), earl of Ulster, who had allied himself with the Poers and opposed Maurice's usurpation of the Clare lands, particularly his activities in Thomond. Such a reconciliation was made easier by the death of fitz Thomas's implacable enemy, Arnold le Poer, in prison following his arrest on charges of heresy. At this Dublin parliament de Burgh and fitz Thomas hosted ceremonial feasts to signify the end of their hostility. After the arrival of John Darcy as justiciar, a settlement over the disputed Clare lands seems to have been arrived at. The government accepted that fitz Thomas, in de facto control over the inheritance since 1318, had a right to claim lordship over Inchiquin and Youghal; he in turn undertook to defend the heirs as the rightful owners and his tenants rather than tenants of the crown. In addition, their stewards were to be allowed enter and administer the lands. In July 1329 Darcy negotiated a settlement between the competing factions in Ireland and the agreement was underwritten by fitz Thomas, the earl of Ulster, William de Bermingham, the Poers, and the Barrys. Later that month Maurice travelled to England accompanied by the earl of Ormond. At court he renewed his undertakings with regard to the Clare property and as a reward for his good faith and future good service to the crown, and, more importantly, to bind him to the regime in England, Mortimer created him earl of Desmond on 27 August 1329. He was granted Kerry to hold as a liberty, pardoned his annual rent for Dungarvan, and given the long-coveted advowson of the church there. He also received the shrievalties of Co. Waterford and Co. Cork and was pardoned all trespasses he may have committed against royal authority between the coronation of Edward III and October 1329. His followers too were given leave to apply for pardons. Desmond displayed his loyalty early in 1330 when he responded to a royal summons and campaigned against the Irish in Leinster.
Yet this submission to royal authority did not last long. Desmond and the earl of Ulster were drawn into a fresh quarrel after de Burgh's humiliating defeat by Brian Bán O'Brien at Thurles in July 1329. Subsequently, while his patron was in England receiving the titles to his earldom, O'Brien went on the rampage in Munster. A royal expedition was unable to bring him to heel in the summer of 1330 and a jury at Cashel implicated fitz Thomas in O'Brien's depredations in July. Desmond vigorously denied the charges and claimed that any dealings he had with O'Brien were concerned with bringing the Irish leader into the king's peace. Because of the disturbances in Munster and the unwillingness of a jury in Limerick to make any judgment against Desmond, the justiciar ordered him arrested; Desmond's failure to fulfil his side of the bargain with the crown and return custody of the Clare lands may also have contributed to this decision. In an attempt to forestall the recurrence of warfare between Desmond and the earl of Ulster, de Burgh too was placed in custody. Meanwhile the earl of Ulster's cousin, Walter de Burgh (qv), attacked Desmond's lands in Munster. As a result Desmond broke out of his prison and warfare in Munster recommenced.
In September 1330 he was summoned to England by Mortimer, a summons he ignored. Thereafter little is heard of him until summer 1331. He failed to attend the parliament in January 1331 and the subsequent parliament called by the new justiciar, Anthony Lucy (qv), for July that year. Desmond's refusal of the latter invitation is, initially, understandable: in March 1331 Edward III ordered the revocation of all the grants made by Mortimer in Ireland, and such a revocation jeopardised all of the spectacular gains that Desmond had made. The July parliament was prorogued until August, when, following negotiations with Lucy, Desmond agreed to re-enter the king's peace and obtained a pardon for his offences of the previous year. However, in a surprising move after the parliament, on 16 August, the justiciar went to Limerick, arrested the earl, and brought him back to Dublin castle on 7 October. Lucy presumably suspected the earl's good faith and moved quickly to prevent him from reneging on his promises. Shortly afterwards Desmond was joined in prison by William and Walter de Bermingham (qv) and Henry de Mandeville (qv). After the earl's arrest and imprisonment, Lucy held a series of inquisitions in Limerick, Cork, and Tipperary into his crimes over the previous decade. These inquisitions detailed the fabulous conspiracy to make him king of Ireland and listed in minute detail each of the crimes he was supposed to have committed. They went further and asserted that if Desmond was set free there could be no peace in Ireland.
After the execution of William de Bermingham, war in Scotland, the recall of Lucy, and a proposal that Edward III visit Ireland in person, the situation in Ireland began to stabilise. The English government decided to release Desmond, and at a ceremony in Christ Church, Dublin, on 17 May 1333, witnessed by most of the important magnates in Ireland, he was freed. In return he swore that he would moderate his behaviour and obey the king's ministers in Ireland. He also made a number of fines. At the June parliament at Dublin, Desmond found sureties for his behaviour, including the earl of Ulster, a number of other prominent de Burghs, members of the Poer family, and a vast array of the great and good in colonial society. In September he handed over a number of hostages to ensure that he would comply with the terms of his release. Gradually over the next two years the lands and benefits he had lost by the order of revocation in 1331 were restored, including the liberty of Kerry on 16 July 1334. In August 1335 he obeyed a writ of summons to Scotland and served there briefly with the justiciar and the earl of Ormond.
During the late 1330s Desmond emerges as a more chastened and loyal character. He fought against his old ally Brian Bán O'Brien, moved against his kinsman Maurice fitz Nicholas of Kerry and imprisoned him on the charge of collaborating with the king's Irish enemies. Fitz Nicholas was so harshly treated in the earl's prison that he died shortly after his capture. Desmond was well rewarded for his quiescence: all of his estates and rights were fully restored; he was in receipt of a number of valuable royal gifts, including continuing remission of rent for Dungarvan and temporary custody after Ormond's death of the earl's lands in Tipperary and Limerick. His relationship with the justiciar, Thomas Charlton (qv), appears to have been particularly close. The justiciar reconfirmed that Youghal and Inchiquin were held of him in chief, and he received the custody of half of the Clare inheritance after the death of Giles Baddlesmere in 1338. Yet there still remained opposition in Munster to Desmond's aggrandisement. In 1339 in the justiciar's court Desmond produced a letter from two Munster lords complaining of his activities and the cooperation between earl and justiciar. The letter went on to suggest that the assassination of Desmond might be arranged.
Following the crisis in 1341, brought on by another general revocation of all grants made in Ireland since 1307, Desmond failed to attend the October parliament called to promulgate the order. There is little to support the assertions of some historians that he played a prominent role in the opposition to the order, and over the next two years there is very limited evidence in the records for his activities. However, after the appointment of the uncompromising Ralph Ufford (qv) as justiciar in 1344, Desmond found himself at odds once more with the Dublin government. Ufford went to Cork in August 1344 and took inquisitions into Desmond's behaviour. These inquisitions, in addition to the usual complaints of his total disregard for the law, found that Desmond was doing his utmost to extend his influence over the Clare lands, had continued to ignore the rights of the lawful heirs, and had ejected royal officials and inserted his own. Ufford reappointed royal officials at Youghal and Inchiquin and also granted the custody of the Ormond lands in Limerick and Tipperary to the countess of Ormond. In February 1345 Desmond ignored his summons before the Irish exchequer to account for his custody of the Ormond lands. Shortly afterwards Ufford decided to resurrect the mainprise made for Desmond's release in 1333; the surviving sureties were required to produce Desmond before the justiciar or face stiff penalties.
In response to Ufford's attacks on so many fronts Desmond attempted to unite opposition to the justiciar and called an assembly of Anglo-Irish magnates to meet at Callan in Kilkenny in February. The meeting was a complete failure. In April Desmond and a number of other Anglo-Irish magnates were compelled to take an oath of fealty before the justiciar and the Irish council. In June Desmond failed to attend the parliament at Dublin, attacked Nenagh and Thurles, and plundered Ely and Ormond. The next month Ufford moved south to deal with the earl, who retreated before the justiciar's superior forces. Ufford entered Kerry, stormed Desmond's stronghold at Castleisland, and executed some of his leading supporters; though Ufford was unable to capture fitz Thomas himself, his lands were declared forfeit. Partly in an attempt to justify, retrospectively, the actions of the government, Ufford and his successor, Walter de Bermingham, held inquisitions in Munster in 1345 and 1346 while the earl was in hiding. These inquisitions bear more than a passing resemblance to Lucy's inquiries in 1331 and 1332. The juries found that Desmond was trying to usurp the position of the crown in Ireland. One jury in Tralee suggested that the earl had written to the kings of Scotland and France in 1344. In addition they asserted that he sent an embassy to the papal curia to convince the pope that successive kings of England had failed to rule Ireland according to the terms of Laudabiliter. This embassy offered 2,000 marks to the Holy See to have Desmond appointed papal vicar of Ireland. The kings of France and Scotland were informed that the earl was willing to create enough turmoil in Ireland to distract Edward III from France and Scotland, and they were asked in return to aid Desmond's attempt to seize Ireland for himself. Not only are the details of this conspiracy difficult to accept at face value, its timing is also suspicious.
In June 1346 a petition to Edward III from Desmond's relatives in England was granted and he was given safe conduct to travel to the court to explain his actions before the king, despite the vigorous opposition of officials in the Irish administration. He left for England in September and for the next year waited at Berkeley castle in the safe custody of his relatives for Edward's return from the continent. He attended the parliament at Westminster in January 1348 and in March was present at the marriage of the king's daughter. His rehabilitation was a gradual process. His son was married to Beatrice, daughter of Ralph, Lord Stafford, the former steward of the king's household. In August 1348 Stafford was granted joint custody of Desmond's lands with Richard Talbot and they were to assume responsibility for the earl's upkeep while the king pondered what to do with him. He was finally pardoned on 28 November 1349. The pardon was a conditional one, however. He was admitted to the king's grace following representations of certain English nobles, his ‘treason’ and acts of war against the king were not forgiven until 1351, and he could be indicted on these charges in the future if he failed to obey the mandates of the crown. He was also required to leave his two sons in England as hostages.
Although the terms of this pardon were more onerous than those associated with the pardon of 1333, all of the lands that Desmond had lost since 1345 were to be restored, together with their accrued issues. He returned to Ireland in 1350 and the following year he successfully petitioned the king to lift the restrictions of his pardon. In the future he could not be arrested nor could his lands be declared forfeit by the Irish administration without the express orders of the king himself. He renewed the harmonious relationship he had enjoyed with the crown in the late 1330s, and in 1353 was granted the custody of the temporalities of the bishopric of Limerick; the next year his clerk, Stephen Lawless was advanced to that see. In 1355 all of those who had stood surety for him in 1333 were pardoned. He seems to have been in England between 1353 and 1355 and, following the recall of Thomas Rokeby (qv), he was appointed justiciar of Ireland on 8 July 1355 and acted in that capacity from 8 August until his death in Dublin castle on 25 January 1356. He was buried at the Dominican friary at Tralee.
Desmond's first wife was Katherine, daughter of Richard de Burgh (qv), earl of Ulster. With his second wife, Aveline, the daughter of Nicholas fitz Maurice FitzGerald of Kerry, he had four children. He was succeeded as earl of Desmond by his eldest son, Maurice (d. 1357) and then by his youngest son Gerald (qv) (Gearóid Iarla), who by the king's grace was permitted to inherit in place of the middle son, Nicholas, who was mentally disabled. Desmond and Aveline also had one daughter, Joan.
Desmond's long career looms so large in fourteenth-century Ireland partly because of his ruthless ambition and his resilience but also because of his dominant position in Anglo-Irish society, a position enhanced by long minorities affecting the houses of Kildare and Ormond. Some historians, relying on the evidence of the inquisitions of the 1330s and 1340s, have condemned this ambition and portrayed him as a vicious and vindictive magnate willing to do anything to advance his own cause. Edmund Curtis (qv), in contrast, saw him as an Anglo-Irish patriot leading opposition against the domination of English-born officials and the rule of Ireland by dictate from Westminster. Neither caricature is accurate. Certainly there is little to suggest a forerunner of Jonathan Swift (qv) or Henry Grattan (qv) in his struggles against Lucy and Ufford. Nor should he be condemned as merely a capricious and lawless Anglo-Irish lord operating on the margins of an anarchic society. The failure of the English government in Ireland and indeed the English crown to deal with him properly, by balancing the use of its powers of patronage and censure, led to his rebellion in the 1340s. Certainly the king seems to have rejected Ufford's methods when he pardoned Desmond in 1349. Likewise, the inability of Mortimer to chastise fitz Thomas effectively in the 1320s and his tacit bribe with the earldom of Desmond did little to curb his excesses. On more than one occasion Edward III balked at suggestions to dispossess Desmond and thus create a vacuum in the south-west of Ireland. If anything, Desmond's career highlights the necessity in colonial Ireland for strong magnates to act in place of the government in Dublin in enforcing authority and dispensing justice.