Thomas Fitzgerald 10th earl of Kildare

Thomas Fitzgerald Kildare, 10th earl of 1513-37, Irish nobleman, called Silken Thomas. When his father, the 9th earl and lord deputy of Ireland, was summoned to London on charges of maladministration in 1534, Thomas became vice deputy. The same year, hearing the rumor that his father had been executed (he actually died later in the Tower of London), he renounced his allegiance to King Henry VIII and rose in rebellion. Thomas was excommunicated for the murder of his enemy, the archbishop of Dublin. The rebellion was crushed the following year, and Thomas eventually surrendered and was hanged in London with five of his uncles.

Fitzgerald, Thomas, 10th earl of Kildare [I] (1513–37). In 1534 Fitzgerald's father, the 9th earl, was recalled as lord deputy to England and imprisoned in the Tower in disgrace. Fitzgerald, then Lord Offaly, began with a show of defiance to Henry VIII which developed into open revolt. In September 1534 his father died and Fitzgerald succeeded to the earldom. William Skeffington's relief army arrived in October, took Fitzgerald's stronghold at Maynooth, killed the garrison, and shattered the revolt. Fitzgerald surrendered, on promise of life, was sent to London, and there executed in 1537 with five of his uncles.

Fitzgerald, Thomas, 10th earl of Kildare [I] (1513–37). In 1534 Fitzgerald's father, the 9th earl, was recalled as lord deputy to England and imprisoned in the Tower in disgrace. Fitzgerald, then Lord Offaly, had been appointed deputy by his father. He began with a show of defiance to Henry VIII which developed into open revolt, declaring that the king was a heretic and that all Englishmen were to leave Ireland at once. In the course of the rising the archbishop of Dublin was murdered, probably with Fitzgerald's participation. Had the revolt received foreign assistance, it could have been formidable. In September 1534 his father died and Fitzgerald succeeded to the earldom. William Skeffington's relief army arrived in October, took Fitzgerald's stronghold at Maynooth, killed the garrison, and shattered the revolt. Fitzgerald surrendered, on promise of life, was sent to London, and there executed in 1537 with five of his uncles. The breach of surrender terms caused anger in Ireland, but the execution of a government official guilty of rebellion and atrocity hardly surprised many Tudor Englishmen.

J. A. Cannon