Latest / The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History / The Ninth Earl of Desmond: Gerald FitzGerald's Rebellion 1569-1583
Transcript
- Luna: We've talked a lot about the Kildare rebellions and the Flight of the Earls, but I feel like the Desmond rebellions don't get as much attention. Lucas: You're right. The FitzGeralds of Desmond — the senior branch of the Geraldines — were a law unto themselves in Munster. Gerald FitzGerald, the 14th Earl, was a vast landowner, but he was also caught between two worlds. On one side, the English administration in Dublin wanted to impose direct control; on the other, his own Gaelic and Old English tenants expected him to defend their way of life. Luna: So what pushed him over the edge? Lucas: A bunch of things. First, the arrival of Sir Henry Sidney as Lord President of Munster in 1565. Sidney brought a new policy: extend English law, disarm the lords, and impose a tax called 'cess' to pay for English soldiers. That cut right into the Earl's authority and income. Then there's the religious issue — the Reformation was barely taking hold in Ireland, but Elizabeth's government was determined to enforce Protestantism. And on top of that, there was a bitter feud between the Desmond FitzGeralds and their cousins, the Butlers of Ormond. Thomas Butler, the Earl of Ormond, was a Protestant and a favourite at Elizabeth's court. He had the queen's ear. Luna: So it's part family feud, part resistance to English control. Lucas: Exactly. The first Desmond rebellion broke out in 1569. It was actually started by a cousin of the Earl, James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, who was more militant. James raised forces from Gaelic lords like the O'Briens and the MacCarthys, and attacked English settlements. But Gerald, the Earl, was hesitant. He eventually joined the rebellion, but he also tried to negotiate. The rebellion dragged on until 1573, when Gerald surrendered. He was pardoned but heavily fined and forced to give up his authority. Luna: So he got off relatively lightly the first time. Lucas: He did. But the underlying tensions never went away. And then in 1579, James FitzMaurice returned from exile with a Papal banner. Pope Gregory XIII had declared a crusade against Elizabeth. James landed at Smerwick Harbour in County Kerry with a small force of Spanish and Italian soldiers. That sparked the second rebellion, and this time the Earl of Desmond threw his full weight behind it. The government in Dublin was terrified — they thought a Spanish invasion was imminent. Luna: So how did the English respond this time? Lucas: With overwhelming force. The Lord Deputy, Sir William Pelham, and the Earl of Ormond led an army into Munster. They used a scorched-earth strategy — burning crops, killing livestock, destroying homesteads. One of the most brutal episodes was the siege of Carrigafoyle Castle in 1580. That was a key fortress of Desmond's on the Shannon. The English brought heavy cannon and blasted it to rubble. Then they hanged the entire garrison. It was meant to send a message. Then in November 1580, at Dún an Óir, near Smerwick, a force of Papal troops — about 600 men — surrendered. They were promised quarter, but the English commander, Lord Grey de Wilton, ordered them all executed. Women and camp followers too. Luna: Wait — the massacre at Smerwick. That's actually a well-known atrocity in Irish history. Lucas: It's infamous. The English commander, Lord Grey, justified it as necessary to prevent a Spanish beachhead. But it was a cold-blooded slaughter. After that, the rebellion turned into a guerrilla war. Desmond himself was hunted across the mountains and bogs of Kerry. By 1583, Munster was devastated by famine. People were eating dogs and cats, and there are reports of cannibalism. The poet Edmund Spenser, who served in Ireland, later wrote about the horrors in his work A View of the Present State of Ireland. He saw it firsthand. Luna: And Desmond's fate? Lucas: He was finally cornered in November 1583 in a wood near Tralee. A small party of English soldiers caught him. He was killed on the spot. His body was decapitated and the head sent to Queen Elizabeth, who had it impaled on a spike on London Bridge. His lands were confiscated, and the English government carved them up for the Munster Plantation. That's the background to the plantations that later shaped Ulster. Luna: It's a grim story. But it explains why the FitzGeralds of Desmond never rose again. Lucas: Right. The family was broken. The vast Desmond liberty — which had functioned almost like a separate kingdom — was wiped out. English common law replaced Brehon law. And the Munster Plantation brought in English settlers, many of them from the West Country. That changed the demographics and created a new Protestant landed class. It's a direct precursor to the Ulster Plantation we covered earlier. Luna: It's interesting that you mention the plantation. Because, you know, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Lucas: It really makes a difference. We keep the show ad-free because of it. Luna: Anyway, back to Desmond — what about the people who actually fought on his side? I mean, the Irish gallowglass and kern? Lucas: Ah, good question. The gallowglass were heavily armored mercenaries from Scotland, usually from the Hebrides. They fought with massive two-handed swords called claymores. Kern were lighter infantry, skirmishers who used javelins and bows. Both were central to Desmond's forces. But the English had developed new tactics — massed pike and shot formations, backed by cannon. The old Gaelic way of war was becoming obsolete. The rebellion showed that even the strongest Irish lords could no longer resist the Tudor state's military machine. Luna: And what about the role of the Earl of Ormond? He was a key figure. Lucas: Thomas Butler, the 10th Earl of Ormond, was a fascinating character. He was raised at the English court, so he was culturally English. But he was also a powerful Irish lord. He used his influence with Elizabeth to undermine his FitzGerald rivals. During the rebellion, he pursued a ruthless campaign against Desmond's supporters. But he also tried to moderate the government's harshness — sometimes. He was a man caught between two worlds, but in the end, he chose the crown. His victory cemented the Butlers as the dominant family in the south. Luna: So after the rebellion, what was the immediate impact on ordinary people in Munster? Lucas: The devastation was catastrophic. The population of Munster is estimated to have fallen by a third due to war, famine, and disease. Many people fled to other parts of Ireland or to the Continent. The land was redistributed to English undertakers — the same system we later saw in Ulster. Some native Irish were allowed to stay as tenants, but they lost their former status. The social fabric was torn apart. It took generations to recover. And that bitterness fed into later rebellions, like the 1641 Rising. Luna: It's a serious turning point then — the end of the medieval Gaelic order in the south. Lucas: Absolutely. The Desmond Rebellions marked the effective end of the independent Irish lordships. After that, the English administration in Dublin had a much freer hand to impose its will. The plantation system began in earnest. And the story of the Desmond Earls — their power, rebellion, and fall — is a microcosm of the larger Elizabethan conquest of Ireland. It's a tragedy, really, because Gerald FitzGerald wasn't a bad man. He just couldn't adapt fast enough to a world that was changing around him. Luna: And his name, Gerald FitzGerald, is still remembered in Kerry and Cork. Lucas: It is. There are ruins of his castles — like Askeaton and Adare — that still stand. And the memory of the famine in Munster persisted in local folklore for centuries. So his story lives on, even if his cause was lost. Next time, maybe we can talk about the Nine Years' War, which really was the final showdown. Luna: I'd like that.