Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin

Irish historian and hereditary knight
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroIrish historian and hereditary knight
PlacesIreland
wasHistorian Knight
Work fieldMilitary Royals Social science
Gender
Male
Birth13 July 1937
Death14 September 2011 (aged 74 years)
The details

Biography

Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin (13 July 1937 – 14 September 2011), was an Irish author, hereditary knight and president of the Irish Georgian Society.

Career

The son of Desmond FitzGerald, 28th Knight of Glin (1901–1949), and Veronica Villiers (daughter of Ernest Villiers, M.P.), FitzGerald was born in Paddington, London, England into an old Anglo-Irish aristocratic family in County Limerick and was educated at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University. He worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in the furniture department.

He later returned to Ireland, and became active in conservation issues, becoming involved with the Irish Georgian Society. He was appointed its president in 1991. He has also represented the Christie's art auctioneers in Ireland. He died in Dublin in 2011.

Family

He was originally married to Loulou de la Falaise for a brief period. In 1970 he married his second wife, Olda Ann Willes, daughter of Major Thomas and Georgina Willes. His three daughters are: landscape designer Catherine, who married actor Dominic West in 2010 and was previously married to Ned Lambton, Nesta, and Honor. At the time of his death he had four grandchildren – Dora, Senan, Francis, and Rose, as well as step-granddaughter Martha.

Title

FitzGerald was the last Black Knight; as he had no sons and the title cannot be passed to a daughter, the title became dormant with his death. A similar title, the Knight of Kerry, is held by his distant cousins.

Glin Castle

FitzGerald divided his time between Glin Castle, Glin, County Limerick, which he inherited as a child, and his Dublin townhouse.

He devoted his life to restoring the belongings of the castle, which had been sold due to previous financial difficulties, and rebuilding and finishing the remaining parts of the estate including the Georgian house that had remained incomplete for centuries.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. John Fraunceis Eyre FitzGerald, 25th Knight of Glin, the Cracked Knight
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Desmond John Edmund FitzGerald, 26th Knight of Glin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Clara Anne Blennerhassett
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Desmond FitzJohn Lloyd FitzGerald, 27th Knight of Glin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Rev. Michael Lloyd Apjohn (d. 1871)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Isabella Lloyd Apjohn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Elizabeth Barnes (d. 1887)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Desmond FitzGerald, 28th Knight of Glin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Edwin Wyndham-Quin, 3rd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Florence Goold
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Lady Rachel Wyndham-Quin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Lord Charles Lennox Kerr
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Florence Kerr
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Charlotte Hanmer
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Thomas Villiers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Rev. Charles Villiers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Charlotte Harte
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Ernest Villiers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. William George Daniel-Tyssen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Florence Tyssen-Amherst
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Amelia Amhurst
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Veronica Villiers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Sir John Guest, 1st Baronet
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Bertie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Hon. Elaine Guest
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Lady Cornelia Spencer-Churchill
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Lady Frances Vane
 
 
 
 
 
 

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