Background
Kildare was the son of the Honorary Robert Fitzgerald, younger son of George Fitzgerald, 16th Earl of Kildare. His mother was Mary, daughter of James Clotworthy.
Kildare was the son of the Honorary Robert Fitzgerald, younger son of George Fitzgerald, 16th Earl of Kildare. His mother was Mary, daughter of James Clotworthy.
In 1714 he served as Lord Justice of Ireland. He was unusual among the Irish nobility of his time for his strong and sincere religious beliefs. Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse, a notorious rakehell, just before his death in 1741, received a letter from his local vicar reproaching him for his debauchery and blasphemy and urging him to repentance.
Rosse, noting that the letter was addressed only to "My Lord", as a dying joke put it in a fresh envelope and forwarded it to Kildare, who naturally assumed that it was an attack on him and was predictably furious.
He demanded an inquiry by the Archbishop of Dublin, but the hoax was quickly exposed. Lord Kildare married Lady Mary, daughter of William O"Brien, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin, on 7 March 1708.
James Fitzgerald, 1st Duke of Leinster (1722-1773)
Honorary Richard Fitzgerald
Margaretta Hill, Marchioness of Downshire (died 19 January 1766), wife of Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire
This monument was first put at the north side of the choir of Christ Church Cathedral but later moved into the south transept.