Joan FitzGerald of Desmond
d. 1486
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About
Joan of Desmond married the seventh Earl of Kildare, and together they founded the friary at Adare where she was buried; she was mother of Gerald the Great. Desmond and Kildare, the two Geraldine earldoms, meet in her marriage - and both now flow in this line.
Research notes
✓ JOAN, da. of JAMES (FITZGERALD), EARL OF DESMOND (styled 7th Earl in CP-Kildare, 6th elsewhere - the ordinals vary; = the usurper, d.1462/3, I100235, ALREADY A DIRECT ANCESTOR via the Roche gateway) by MARY, da. of ULICK DE BURGH of CLANRICARDE; m. Thomas 7th Earl of Kildare; d.1486, bur. in the monastery of ADARE which she and her husband founded; mother of Gerald the Great, 8th Earl (our line). This rung makes the Desmond usurper a DOUBLE ancestor (via Roche AND via Kildare) and DOUBLES the Shanid descent. Source: Cokayne, Complete Peerage (1st edn), 'Kildare' pp.368-73, photographed and read 6 Aug 2026; contested rungs note-only, not hardened.