Nationalist and Leinster Times, February 1922.
Death of the Duke of Leinster.
On Thursday of last week, Maurice, the sixth Duke of Leinster died,
after a prolonged illness, in a nursing home in Edinburgh. He was born
in 1887 and was unmarried. Educated at Eton, he was a talented young
man, but he suffered from a nervous malady almost from his boyhood, and
was destined to lead the life of an invalid. His youngest brother, Lord
Edward FitzGerald -- an historic name in Irish history -- succeeds to
the title and estates, and bears the distinction of being premier Duke
and Marquis and Earl of Ireland.
The new Duke was born in May 1892. Another brother , Lord Desmond,
was killed under tragic circumstances during the Great War. The father
of the present Duke was very popular and was a man of a very attractive
personality. He was held in the highest esteem by the tenants on the
extensive estates in Kildare, and died in December 1893, at a
comparatively early age. His mother Lady Hermione Duncombe was the
eldest daughter of the Earl of Faversham. She died in March 1895.
-
- Edward Fitzgerald, 7th Duke of
Leinster
- b. 6 May 1892, d. 8 March 1976
|
-
- May Etheridge Duchess of Leinster
- b.1892 - d. 1935
|
Source of images:
www.thePeerage.com
The Leinster Estates were sold to the tenants under the Wyndham Land
Purchase Act for over £1,000,000. The new Peer was an officer in the
West Riding Regiment, in which he served during the Great War. In June
1913, he was married to Miss May Etheridge, the actress. Both the bride
and the bridegroom were 21 years of age at their marriage.
The above is a true and
accurate transcript of the original document.
[Note from Michael Purcell 2010. In March 1922 the new
Duke, Lord Edward FitzGerald , presented himself to the
Irish Free State Government offering to help establish the
newly founded Irish Army, his request was turned down. He
was married four times, he killed himself in 1976 , aged 83
years. Some years ago members of a FitzGerald family living
in California claimed they were the rightful heirs to the
title "Duke of Leinster" they claimed that Lord Desmond
Fitzgerald had faked his death during the Great War and had
escaped to Canada where he lived out his life until his
death in 1967 at the age of 79. The claimants state they are
the direct descendants of Lord Desmond. In order to prove
this claim they took their case to the House of Lords at the
Palace of Westminster, and are at present awaiting a
decision on the matter. Members of Carlow County Heritage
Society were engaged by representatives of the FitzGerald
family to carry out research to assist with this legal
action.].
- Transcribed by M. Purcell c2010.
- Old newspapers in the PPP.
