Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare

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Tomás an tSíoda, leader of the Kildare Rebellion in 1534; drawn in the 1830s.

Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (1513–1537), also known as Silken Thomas (Irish: Tomás an tSíoda), was a figure in Irish History. He spent a considerable part of his early life in England. In February 1534, when his father, Gerald FitzGerald, the 9th Earl of Kildare, was summoned to London, he appointed Thomas deputy governor of Ireland in his absence. In June 1534 Thomas heard rumours that his father had been executed in the Tower of London and that the British government intended the same fate for himself and his uncles. He summoned the Council to St Mary's Abbey, Dublin, and on 11 June, accompanied by 140 horsemen with silk fringes on their helmets (this is were he got his nicknane), rode to the abbey and publicly renounced his allegiance to King Henry VIII, Lord of Ireland.

In July he attacked Dublin Castle, but his army was routed. He ordered the execution of Archbishop Alen at Clontarf who had tried to mediate; this lost him any support from the clergy. By this time his father had taken ill and died in London, and he had technically succeeded as tenth earl, but the Crown never confirmed his title. He retreated to his stronghold at Maynooth, County Kildare, but in March 1535 this was taken by an English force under Sir William Skeffington by bribing a guard, while Thomas was absent gathering reinforcements to relieve it. The garrison was then given the "Maynooth Pardon", that is, they were all put to death. Thomas had wrongly assumed that his cause would attract overwhelming support.

Sixteenth century woodcut of Silken Thomas's attack on Dublin castle.

In July Lord Leonard Grey arrived from England as Lord Deputy of Ireland; Fitzgerald, seeing his army melting away and his allies submitting one by one, asked pardon for his offences. He was still a formidable opponent, and Grey, wishing to avoid a prolonged conflict, guaranteed his personal safety and persuaded him to submit unconditionally to the king's mercy. In October 1535 he was sent as a prisoner to the Tower. Despite Grey's guarantee he was hanged, drawn and quartered, with his five uncles, at Tyburn, 3 February 1537.