Fitzgerald, Lord Edward (1763–1798)

Lord Edward Fitzgerald was born the younger son of James Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster, and his wife Emily, the daughter of the Duke of Richmond. He arrived in Ireland as an infant and attended school there under the instruction of William Ogilvie. After the death of his father in 1773, Edward's mother took her children and Ogilvie (her lover) to France. Lord Edward began his military career in 1776, transferring regiments several times in his early years. After serving in America, he returned to Ireland and was elected member of parliament for the borough of Athy in Kildare. He aligned himself politically with his cousin, Charles James Fox, and a group of Irish patriots. During the 1780s Fitzgerald traveled a great deal and gradually became more interested in revolutionary politics. His marriage in 1792 to the daughter of French radicals signals to many the cementing of his radicalism. He returned to Ireland in 1793 and became involved in revolutionary circles. In 1796 he traveled to Hamburg with Arthur O'Connor, seeking French assistance for an Irish rebellion. Upon his return, he formally joined the Society for United Irishmen and was the group's most experienced militarist. In 1797, Fitzgerald made the mistake of trusting half‐hearted radical Thomas Reynolds, who betrayed Fitzgerald and the Leinster Directory to the police. Fitzgerald fled and lived in hiding for a time before his dramatic capture in May 1798. Lord Edward was wounded and imprisoned in Newgate Gaol. An attempt was made to rescue him before the outbreak of the rebellion, but it failed. In prison his wounds became infected and he died in his cell on June 4, 1798.