Bridget FitzGerald

Bridget FitzGerald
Countess of Tyrconnell
Bornc. 1589
Died1682 (aged 90)
Spouses
IssueHugh Albert O'Donnell
Mary Stuart O'Donnell
9 others (with Nicholas Barnewall)
FatherHenry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare
MotherFrances Howard, Countess of Kildare

Bridget FitzGerald, Countess of Tyrconnell and later Viscountess Barnewall (c. 1589 – 1682), was an Irish noblewoman and poet.

Early life

Bridget FitzGerald was born circa 1589.[1][2] Her parents were Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare,[3] and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Nottingham. When her father died in 1597 she was sent to live with her grandmother, Mabel Browne, Countess of Kildare, in Maynooth.[4][page needed]

First marriage

Bridget's first husband, Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell

Bridget married Rory O'Donnell either in 1604[5] or around Christmas 1606.[6] Their only son, Hugh Albert, was born around October 1606.[7] Due to increasing hostility from the English nobility,[8][6] Rory fled Ireland in September 1607 whilst Bridget was pregnant with their second child.[3][9] As Bridget was staying at her paternal grandmother's Maynooth estate at the time, far away from the point of departure in Rathmullan, she was left behind.[3] Rory was joined by about ninety people - his extended family (including Hugh Albert), the family of wartime ally Hugh O'Neill, and various followers.[9]

When Bridget learned of her husband's departure, she was expected to deliver the baby within two weeks. Rory did not intend to abandon her, assuming she would reunite with him in Continental Europe at a later time.[3] According to Rory's messenger Owen MacGrath, "[Rory's flight was not] for want of love... if [he] had known sooner of his going, he would have taken [Bridget] with him."[10] Nevertheless, nineteen-year-old Bridget was distressed[3] and furious by her husband leaving with no warning.[11]

MacGrath attempted to persuade Bridget to leave Ireland a few weeks after the flight.[10] She considered going,[12] though she eventually refused.[10] Bridget's mother, Lady Kildare, had advised her to cooperate with the English.[10][13] Bridget never saw her husband or son again.[14] Rory died in Rome on 28 July 1608.[15][6]

Second marriage and death

Bridget presented her daughter at the English court with a personal appeal to King James I. Bridget sufficiently roused the king with an emotional telling of her plight and financial troubles, and he granted Bridget a pension of £200 from Tyrconnell's escheated estates.[14] Mary was placed under the patronage of the King and Bridget was sent back to Ireland.[16] In 1609, Bridget returned to her family's estates in Kildare.[11] She raised Mary there[17][11] as a Catholic.[18][11]

In 1619 Bridget remarried[14] to Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall from Turvey, County Dublin. They had nine children. Barnewall died in 1663, leaving five sons and four daughters.[16]

Bridget died in 1682, at the age of ninety.[19]

Poetry

She wrote in Irish, but only one of her poems has survived, a work in an elegant classical style from about 1607.[1][20][21][22][23]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "NIC GEARAILT, Brighid (c.1589–1682)". ainm.ie (in Irish). 8 November 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. ^ Coolahan, Marie-Louise (January 2010). "Poetry in Irish". Women, Writing, and Language in Early Modern Ireland Women, Writing, and Language in Early Modern Ireland. pp. 14–62. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567652.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-956765-2. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Casway 2003, p. 59.
  4. ^ O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018). The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy. Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-680534740.
  5. ^ Meehan 1868, p. 53.
  6. ^ a b c O'Byrne 2009.
  7. ^ Silke 2006
  8. ^ McNeill 1911, p. 110.
  9. ^ a b McGurk, John (August 2007). "The Flight of the Earls: escape or strategic regrouping?". History Ireland. 15 (4).
  10. ^ a b c d Casway 2003, p. 59-60.
  11. ^ a b c d Clavin, Terry (October 2009). "O'Donnell, Mary Stuart". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006694.v1. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  12. ^ McCavitt 2007, p. 78.
  13. ^ Bundesen, Kristin (10 November 2021). "Frances Howard Fitzgerald Brooke, Countess of Kildare". Kristin Bundesen. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Casway 2003, p. 60.
  15. ^ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth (August 2007). "San Pietro in Montorio, burial-place of the exiled Irish in Rome, 1608-1623". History Ireland. 15 (4).
  16. ^ a b  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Barnewall, Nicholas (1592-1663)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  17. ^ Bagwell 1895, p. 446.
  18. ^ Casway 2003, p. 72.
  19. ^ Casway 2003, p. 61.
  20. ^ "Corpas". Corpas. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  21. ^ Crotty, P. (2018). The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry. Penguin Books Limited. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-241-38798-6. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  22. ^ "An Lúibín" (PDF).
  23. ^ Deane, S.; Bourke, A.; Carpenter, A.; Williams, J. (2002). The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing. New York University Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-8147-9906-2. Retrieved 27 January 2020.

Sources

Further reading

See also

allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighid_Nic_Gearailt