Earl of Kerry

Title in the peerage of Ireland

Earldom of Kerry
Creation date1723
Created byGeorge I of Great Britain
PeeragePeerage of Ireland
First holderThomas Fitzmaurice, 21st Baron Kerry
Present holderCharles Petty-Fitzmaurice, 9th Marquess of Lansdowne, 10th Earl of Kerry
Heir apparentSimon Petty-Fitzmaurice
Former seat(s)Convamore House
Arms

Baron Kerry is an ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland, named after County Kerry. It was created circa 1223 for Thomas FitzMaurice, Lord OConnello, son of Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan.

In 1325, Maurice FitzMaurice, 4th Baron Kerry, murdered Diarmaid Óg MacCarthy (son of Cormac Mór MacCarthy) in the courtroom at Tralee. For this act, Maurice was tried and attainted by the parliament in Dublin and his lands forfeited, but after his death they were restored to his brother John FitzMaurice, 5th Baron of Kerry.

The title was sometimes given as Baron Lixnaw (after Lixnaw) or Baron Kerry and Lixnaw. In a 1615 dispute with Baron Slane over precedence, it was claimed the title "Baron Lixnaw" was promoted by the rival Earl of Desmond, who wanted "Baron Kerry" to be a a courtesy title for his heir. The Privy Council of Ireland's ruling in the dispute referred to Baron Kerry as both "Lo[rd] of Kierry" and "Baron of Kierry and Licksnawe" [sic].[1]

In 1537, the eleventh Baron was created Baron Odorney and Viscount Kilmaule in the Peerage of Ireland. However, these titles became extinct on his death in 1541 while he was succeeded in the Barony of Kerry by his younger brother.

The twenty-first Baron was created Earl of Kerry in the Peerage of Ireland in 1723. His younger son John Petty Fitzmaurice was created the 1st Earl of Shelbourne in the Peerage of Ireland in 1753 and his son William Petty FitzMaurice, the 2nd Earl of Shelburne, who served as British prime minister from 1782 to 1783, was created Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784. In 1818 the latter's son, the third Marquess, succeeded his cousin as 4th Earl of Kerry and 24th Baron Kerry. Earl of Kerry has subsequently been used as a courtesy title by heirs of the Marquess.

Barons Kerry (1223)

  • Thomas Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Kerry (died c. 1260) According to John O'Hart, his father was Maurice FitzRaymond, the fourth son of Raymond FitzGerald le Gros and Basilia de Clare[2]
  • Maurice Fitzthomas Fitzmaurice, 2nd Baron Kerry (died 1303)
  • Nicholas Fitzmaurice, 3rd Baron Kerry (died 1324)
  • Maurice Fitzmaurice, 4th Baron Kerry (died 1339)
  • John Fitzmaurice, 5th Baron Kerry (died 1348)
  • Maurice Fitzmaurice, 6th Baron Kerry (died 1398)
  • Patrick Fitzmaurice, 7th Baron Kerry (died c. 1410)
  • Thomas Fitzmaurice, 8th Baron Kerry (died 1469)
  • Edmond Fitzmaurice, 9th Baron Kerry (died 1498)
  • Edmond Fitzmaurice, 10th Baron Kerry (died 1543) resigned his estates to become a lay brother in Ardfert Abbey
  • Edmond Fitzmaurice, 11th Baron Kerry (died 1541) (created Viscount Kilmaule in 1537)

Viscounts Kilmaule (1537)

  • Edmond Fitzmaurice, 1st Viscount Kilmaule (died 1541) (extinct)

Barons Kerry (1223; Reverted)

Earls of Kerry (1723)

See Marquess of Lansdowne for further Earls of Kerry.

Family tree

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  • e
Lansdowne Family Tree


Baron Kerry, 1223
Earl of Kerry, 1753
Thomas FitzMaurice
1668–1741
1st Earl of Kerry,
21st Baron Kerry
Viscount FitzMaurice and Baron Dunkeron, 1751
Earl of Shelburne (2nd creation), 1753
Baron Wycombe, 1760
William FitzMaurice
1694–1747
2nd Earl of Kerry,
22nd Baron Kerry		John Petty-Fitzmaurice
1706–1761
1st Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe
Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston, 1784
Francis Thomas-Fitzmaurice
1740–1818
3rd Earl of Kerry,
23rd Baron Kerry		William Petty-Fitzmaurice
1737–1805
1st Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
2nd Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe		Baron Nairne
Baron Keith (1st creation: Ireland), 1797
Baron Keith (2nd creation: UK), 1801
Baron Keith (3rd creation: UK), 1803
Viscount Keith (UK), 1814
John Henry Petty
1765–1809
2nd Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
3rd Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe		George Keith Elphinstone
1746–1823
Viscount Keith, Baron Keith (Ire, UK, UK)		Jane Mercer
Viscountcy Keith and Barony Keith (1st creation) extinct, 1801
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice
1780–1863
3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
4th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe
4th Earl of Kerry, 24th Baron Kerry		Margaret Mercer Elphinstone
1788–1867
Comtesse de Flahaut, 2nd Baroness Keith (Ire, UK), 7th Lady Nairne
Baronies Keith (2nd & 3rd creations) extinct, 1867
Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice
1816–1866
4th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
5th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe
5th Earl of Kerry, 24th Baron Kerry		Emily Jane Petty-FitzMaurice
1819–1895
8th Lady Nairne
Baron Mersey, 1910
Viscount Mersey, 1916		Baron Fitzmaurice, 1906
John Charles Bigham
1840–1929
1st Viscount Mersey		Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice
1845–1927
5th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
6th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe, 6th Earl of Kerry, 24th Baron Kerry, 9th Lord Nairne		Edmond Fitzmaurice
1846–1935
Baron Fitzmaurice
Barony Fitzmaurice extinct, 1935
Charles Clive Bigham
1872–1956
2nd Viscount Mersey		Henry William Edmund Petty-Fitzmaurice
1872–1936
6th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
7th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe, 7th Earl of Kerry, 25th Baron Kerry, 10th Lord Nairne		Charles Fitzmaurice
1874–1914
Edward Clive Bigham
1906–1979
3rd Viscount Mersey		Katherine Bigham
1912–1995
11th Lady Nairne		Charles Hope Petty-Fitzmaurice
1917–1944
7th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
8th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe, 8th Earl of Kerry, 26th Baron Kerry, 11th Lord Nairne		George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice
1912–1999
8th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
9th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe, 9th Earl of Kerry, 27th Baron Kerry
Richard Maurice Clive Bigham
1934–2006
4th Viscount Mersey, 13th Lord Nairne		David Edward Hugh Bigham
b. 1938
Heir apparent to the Viscountcy Mersey		Charles Maurice Petty-Fitzmaurice
b. 1941
9th Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl of Wycombe, and Viscount Calne and Calston,
10th Earl of Shelburne, Viscount FitzMaurice, Baron Dunkeron, and Baron Wycombe, 10th Earl of Kerry, 28th Baron Kerry
Edward John Hallam Bigham
b. 1966
5th Viscount Mersey, 14th Lord Nairne		Charles Richard Petty Bigham
b. 1967
Heir apparent in the heir presumptive to the Viscountcy Mersey		Simon Henry George Petty-Fitzmaurice
b. 1970
styled Earl of Kerry
Flora Bigham, Mistress of Nairne
b. 2003
styled Mistress of Nairne		George Henry Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice
b. 2020
styled Viscount Calne and Calston

Sources

  • Brownhill, J. (1929). "Kerry, and Kerry and Lixnaw". In Cokayne, George Edward; Doubleday, H. A.; Howard de Walden, Lord (eds.). The Complete Peerage. Vol. VII (revised ed.). London: St Catherine's Press. pp. 201–216.

Citations

  1. ^ "Notes of Ancient Records and Rolls for the Lord of Kiery, &c". Carew MS 600, p. 162. London: The National Archives. 1615.
  2. ^ O'Hart, John (1923). "Redmond (No. 1)". Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation. New York: Murphy & McCarthy. pp. 355–357.