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Lot Essay
This and the following six lots were presented to either James, 1st Duke of Leinster (1722-1773) or his son William, Marquess of Kildare (1749-1804) who succeeded his father as 2nd Duke of Leinster in 1773.
James Fitzgerald, eldest surviving son of Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, succeeded his father as 20th Earl on 20 February 1744. In 1747 he received a seat in the English House of Lords as Viscount Leicester of Taplow, Buckinghamshire, an estate belonging to his uncle, the Earl of Inchiquin, which peerage was conferred on Kildare on the occasion of his marriage with Lady Emily Lennox, second daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond. He took an active part in Irish politics and built Leicester House in Dublin, exercising a 'princely hospitality' befitting his wealth and influence, remaining throughout his life so popular in Ireland that a medal was struck in his honour. He was created Duke of Leinster, the first Irish Duke, on 16 March 1766.
William, his second and eldest surviving son, took the courtesy title Marquess of Kildare when his father was created Duke of Leinster in 1766. He then travelled on the Continent. During his absence abroad, his father assisted in his election as MP for Dublin in opposition to La Touche, head of the major Dublin bank. In 1769 he was elected to the Irish House of Commons for both the county of Kildare and City of Dublin. He chose to represent the latter, but in 1772 served as High Sheriff of Kildare. Soon after succeeding to the dukedom on 19 November 1773 he married Emilia Olivia, daughter of St George Usher St George, Baron St George of Hatley St George. Upon this occasion Horace Walpole remarked that the bride's parents 'have not given her a shilling, but the King endows her by making Lord Kildare a Viscount sterling.' (The Complete Peerage, vol. VII, p. 574.)
In 1783 when the Order of St Patrick was founded for the Irish nobility in imitation of the Scottish Order of the Thistle, he was created first knight. Five years later he became Master of the Rolls. Not a natural politician, he affected no leading role in Irish politics but, as the premier Irish peer with influential connections, he was nevertheless one of the first to be consulted when it was proposed that the independent Irish Parliament should be abolished. At the Act of Union he received £28,800 for the loss of his Borough influence, £15,000 for that of Kildare and £13,800 for that of Athy. He died at Carton on 20th October, 1804 and was buried in Kildare Abbey.
James Fitzgerald, eldest surviving son of Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare, succeeded his father as 20th Earl on 20 February 1744. In 1747 he received a seat in the English House of Lords as Viscount Leicester of Taplow, Buckinghamshire, an estate belonging to his uncle, the Earl of Inchiquin, which peerage was conferred on Kildare on the occasion of his marriage with Lady Emily Lennox, second daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond. He took an active part in Irish politics and built Leicester House in Dublin, exercising a 'princely hospitality' befitting his wealth and influence, remaining throughout his life so popular in Ireland that a medal was struck in his honour. He was created Duke of Leinster, the first Irish Duke, on 16 March 1766.
William, his second and eldest surviving son, took the courtesy title Marquess of Kildare when his father was created Duke of Leinster in 1766. He then travelled on the Continent. During his absence abroad, his father assisted in his election as MP for Dublin in opposition to La Touche, head of the major Dublin bank. In 1769 he was elected to the Irish House of Commons for both the county of Kildare and City of Dublin. He chose to represent the latter, but in 1772 served as High Sheriff of Kildare. Soon after succeeding to the dukedom on 19 November 1773 he married Emilia Olivia, daughter of St George Usher St George, Baron St George of Hatley St George. Upon this occasion Horace Walpole remarked that the bride's parents 'have not given her a shilling, but the King endows her by making Lord Kildare a Viscount sterling.' (The Complete Peerage, vol. VII, p. 574.)
In 1783 when the Order of St Patrick was founded for the Irish nobility in imitation of the Scottish Order of the Thistle, he was created first knight. Five years later he became Master of the Rolls. Not a natural politician, he affected no leading role in Irish politics but, as the premier Irish peer with influential connections, he was nevertheless one of the first to be consulted when it was proposed that the independent Irish Parliament should be abolished. At the Act of Union he received £28,800 for the loss of his Borough influence, £15,000 for that of Kildare and £13,800 for that of Athy. He died at Carton on 20th October, 1804 and was buried in Kildare Abbey.