John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond

John FitzGerald
Died 4 March 1399
Ardfinnan
Cause of death drowning
Resting place Youghal
Title Earl of Desmond
Tenure 1398-1399
Nationality Hiberno-Norman
Predecessor Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald
Successor Thomas FitzJohn FitzGerald
Spouse(s) Mary Bourke or Joan of Fermoy
Issue Thomas FitzJohn FitzGerald
Aveline (or Eleanor)
Parents Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald
Eleanor Butler
Norman Ireland, showing the earldoms of Desmond and Ormond

John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond (died 1399) was the son of Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond.[1][2] He married and had one son, Thomas, who succeeded him as Earl of Desmond.[3][4] Alfred Webb tells us of this earl that he "was drowned near Ardfinnan, on the Suir, when returning with his followers from an incursion into the Earl of Ormond's territory, 4th March 1399, and was buried at Youghal. He married according to one account, Mary Bourke; or, according to Lodge, Joan, daughter of the Lord of Fermoy."[5]

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Gerald FitzGerald		 Earl of Desmond
1st creation
1398–1399 		Succeeded by
Thomas FitzGerald
  1. ↑ Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
  2. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III. London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 83
  3. ↑ Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
  4. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III. London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 83
  5. ↑ Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: 1878.