Joan de Burgh, Baronnes D’Arcy, Countess of Kildare

March 7, 2013 — Ireland, Joan de Burgh, Kildare

My 20th great grandmother was born in Ulster, and died in Kildare, Ireland.  Her father,Richard Og, was Earl of Ulster and a very powerful man:

Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd earl of Ulster (1259 – July 29, 1326), called The Red Earl, was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a son of Walter de Burgh, the 1st Earl of Ulster (of the second creation) and Lord of Connacht.^[1] His name, “Richard Og”, meant Richard the Young, probably a reference to his youth when he became earl in 1271, or to differentiate him from his grandfather, Richard Mor. He was also known as the Red Earl.

Richard Og was the most powerful of the de Burgh Earls of Ulster, succeeding his father in Ulster and Connacht upon reaching his majority in 1280.^[1] He was a friend of King Edward I of England, and ranked first among the Earls of Ireland. Richard’s wife Marguerite de Guînes was the cousin of King Edward’s queen. He pursued expansionist policies that often left him at odds with fellow Anglo-Irish lords.

His daughter Elizabeth was to become the second wife of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. However, this did not stop him leading his forces from Ireland to support England’s King Edward I in his Scottish campaigns and when the forces of Edward Bruce invaded Ulster in 1315, the Earl led a force against him, but was beaten at Connor in Antrim. The invasion of Bruce and the uprising of Felim O’Connor in Connacht left him virtually without authority in his lands, but O’Connor was killed in 1316 at the Second Battle of Athenry, and he was able to recover Ulster after the defeat of Bruce at Faughart.^[1]

He died July 29, 1326 at Athassel Priory, near Cashel, County Tipperary.

Children and family

• Aveline de Burgh (b. c. 1280), married John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth
• Eleanor de Burgh (1282 – aft. August 1324)
• Elizabeth de Burgh (c. 1284 – 26 October 1327), married Robert I of Scotland
• Walter de Burgh (c. 1285–1304)
• John de Burgh (c. 1286 – 18 January 1313)
• Matilda de Burgh (c. 1288–1320), married Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Hertford
• Thomas de Burgh (c. 1288–1316)
• Catherine de Burgh (c. 1296 – 1 November 1331), married Maurice Fitzgerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
• Edmond de Burgh (b. c. 1298)
• Joan de Burgh (c. 1300 – 23 April 1359), married Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare

Lady Joan De Burgh, Baroness Darcy (1290 – 1359)

Lady Joan de Burgh was the daughter of Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and Margaret.1 She married, firstly, Thomas FitzJohn FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, son of John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare and Blanche de la Roche, on 16 August 1312 at Greencastle, County Down, Ireland.2 She married, secondly, Sir John Darcy, 1st Lord Darcy de Knayth, son of Sir Roger Darcy and Isabel d’Aton, on 3 July 1329.3 She died on 23 April 1359.1 From 16 August 1312, her married name became FitzGerald.1 As a result of her marriage, Lady Joan de Burgh was styled as Countess of Kildare on 12 September 1316. From 3 July 1329, her married name became Darcy.3

Children of Lady Joan de Burgh and Thomas FitzJohn FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare

· John FitzGerald2 b. 1314, d. 1323

· Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare+1 b. 1318, d. 15 Aug 1390

· Richard FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Kildare2 b. c 1319, d. 7 Jul 1333

Children of Lady Joan de Burgh and Sir John Darcy, 1st Lord Darcy de Knayth

· Elizabeth Darcy+3

· Aymer Darcy3

· Roger Darcy3

· Sir William D’Arcy+3 b. 1330

Citations

1. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VII, page 222. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.

2. Charles Mosley, editor, Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke’s Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2298. Hereinafter cited as Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

3. Charles Mosley, Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 1027.