Today in 1534 Gerald Fitzgerald, 9th Earl of Kildare and the Lord Deputy of Ireland died in the Tower of London. This was the period when England was trying to get a hold of their Irish colony, and Gerald’s father had questionable loyalty to the crown. His son was detained in England when he was young, but eventually, having married Henry VII’s cousin, he was allowed to go back to Ireland. Henry VIII named him the Lord Deputy of Ireland.
He was never able to keep peace in Ireland, and had been accused of corruption and inciting rebellion. In 1534 he was back in London where he was arrested. He was already in poor health, having lost the use of his limbs from earlier battles, and he died “of grief” on September 2.
Kildare was praised by contemporaries as “wise, deep, far-reaching and well-spoken.” Later historians have described him, despite his ultimate failure, as a man of considerable intelligence, learning and diplomatic skill. In private life he was a devoted husband and father, a generous host, a connoisseur of art, and a great bibliophile.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on the English relationship with Ireland during the Tudor period.
Suggested link:
Episode 117: The English in Ireland
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To celebrate Elizabeth I’s birthday month, here is the Celebrations of Elizabeth I Collection.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
