Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond
Thomas Fitzmaurice FitzGerald, 2nd Baron Desmond (died 1298) was an Irish noble who ruled Desmond in Munster. He was the son of Maurice FitzJohn FitzGerald and the grandson of John FitzThomas FitzGerald. He inherited the barony of Desmond in 1282, when he came of age at 21, after the deaths of his father and grandfather at the Battle of Callann in 1261. Because young heirs could not claim lands without royal permission and often had to pay a large fine, his full lands were his only after coming of age.
A famous story from the Desmond lineage says he was nicknamed “Thomas an-Apa” or “Thomas Simiacus” after a cradle incident in which an ape allegedly carried him to the battlements of a monastery and saved him, earning the boy the nickname.
In 1294 he was appointed deputy justiciar, acting as Lord Justice after the death of William d’Oddingseles. He was summoned to Parliament in 1295. He died in 1298 and was buried in the Dominican Priory of North Abbey, Youghal, which he had founded in 1268.
Thomas married Margaret Berkeley, daughter of Thomas Berkeley. They had several children: Thomas FitzThomas FitzGerald, Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, John son of Thomas, and Joan daughter of Thomas.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:18 (CET).