FitzGerald
The Geraldines, Cambro-Norman incomers who became, in the phrase of the time, more Irish than the Irish themselves. The Kildare branch effectively ruled Ireland in the 15th century; the Desmond branch was destroyed in the 1580s.
Ancestral seats
- Maynooth Castle, Co. Kildare
- Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare
- Carton House, Co. Kildare
Where to walk in their footsteps
Access, opening hours and admission change. We confirm every site before it goes into an itinerary.
Maynooth Castle, Co. Kildare
Chief seat of the Geraldine Earls of Kildare; free OPW admission and guided tours, seasonal.
Desmond Hall, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick
Restored 15th-century banqueting hall of the Earls of Desmond; free OPW guided tours.
Also recorded as
FitzgeraldGeraldMacGeraldTravelling to FitzGerald country
Cashel Travel has arranged clan gatherings and heritage tours across Scotland and Ireland since the 1990s, including full gatherings for Clan Gordon, Hay, Keith, Lindsay, Hunter, Dunbar, Graham, Sutherland and MacLaren. We research the family history, build the itinerary around it, and arrange access to places that are not normally open to the public.