William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster
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William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster KP, PC (Ire) (13 March 1749 – 20 October 1804) was an Irish liberal politician and landowner.
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[edit] Career
FitzGerald made his Grand Tour between 1768 and 1769. During the same time, he also was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kildare Borough. FitzGerald sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dublin City from 1676 until 1773, when he took on his father's title and estates. Politically he was a liberal supporter of Henry Grattan and co-founded the Irish Whig Club in 1789. He controlled usually six Kildare members of the Irish House of Commons. In 1770 FitzGerald was chosen Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which post he held for two years.[1] He was reelected for another year in 1777.[1] FitzGerald was a supporter of the Catholic Emancipation and helped to found the Catholic seminary at Maynooth in 1795. Withdrawing from parliament with Grattan in 1797, he moved to England to be with his sick wife and remained there during the 1798 rebellion.
[edit] Family
He was the second, but eldest surviving, son of James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster and the well-connected Lady Emily Mary Lennox. On 4 November 1775 he married Hon. Emilia Olivia St. George, daughter of St George Saint-George, 1st Baron St George and Elizabeth Dominick.[2] He was also the elder brother of the 1790s revolutionary Lord Edward FitzGerald, and was a first cousin of the English liberal politician Charles James Fox.
Children:
- Lady Isabella Charlotte FitzGerald (d 1868); married Maj.-Gen. Louis Guy Charles Guillaume de Rohan-Chabot, Vicomte de Chabot on 1 June 1809.
- Lady Mary Rebecca FitzGerald (6 May 1777 – 28 September 1842); married Sir Charles Lockhart-Ross, 7th Baronet on 15 January 1799
- Lady Emily Elizabeth FitzGerald (13 May 1778 – 9 February 1856); married John Joseph Henry of Straffan (died 28 June 1846) on 13 March 1801
- Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald d. 28 February 1857
- George FitzGerald, Marquess of Kildare (20 June 1783 – 10 February 1784), born at Carton
- Lady Cecilia Olivia Geraldine FitzGerald (3 March 1786 – London 27 July 1863), died in London; married Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley at Boyle Farm, Kingston-on-Thames on 18 August 1806
- Lady Olivia Letitia Catherine FitzGerald (9 September 1787 – 28 February 1858), died in Bath; married Charles Kinnaird, 8th Lord Kinnaird in London on 8 May 1806
- Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster (1791–1874), married Lady Charlotte Stanhope
- Lord William FitzGerald (4 Jan 1793)
His homes were at Carton in County Kildare and Leinster House in Dublin. He was a founder member of the Order of St Patrick in 1783 and of the Royal Irish Academy (1785), and was a large investor in the Royal Canal company launched in 1790. His family's estates of 60,000 acres (25,000 Ha) in Kildare were in three parts, around Maynooth, Rathangan and Athy. He rebuilt the main bridge in Athy over the River Barrow.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. vol. I. Cosimo, Inc.. pp. 400. ISBN 1602066418.
- ^ thePeerage.com - Person Page 1206
[edit] External references
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Grattan Charles Lucas |
Member of Parliament for Dublin City 1767 – 1773 With: Charles Lucas 1767–1771 William Clement 1771–1773 |
Succeeded by William Clement Redmond Morres |
| Preceded by Henry Sandford Garret FitzGerald |
Member of Parliament for Kildare Borough 1768 – 1769 With: Maurice Keating |
Succeeded by Simon Digby Joseph Henry |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Kingston |
Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland 1770 – 1772 |
Succeeded by Viscount Dunluce |
| Preceded by The Earl of Mornington |
Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland 1777 – 1778 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Antrim |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Richard Rigby |
Master of the Rolls in Ireland 1788 – 1789 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Glandore and The Earl of Carysfort (joint) |
| Preceded by Sir Lucius O'Brien, Bt |
Clerk of the Crown in Ireland 1795 – 1797 |
Succeeded by The Lord Glentworth |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by James FitzGerald |
Duke of Leinster 1773 – 1804 |
Succeeded by Augustus FitzGerald |
