Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin (13 July 1937 – 14 September 2011)^[1][2] was an Anglo-Irish hereditary knight,^[3] and author. He was the president of the Irish Georgian Society between 1991 and until his death in 2011.

Career

The son of Desmond FitzGerald, 28th Knight of Glin (1901–1949), and Veronica Villiers (daughter of Ernest Villiers, M.P.),^[2] FitzGerald was born in Paddington, London, England into an old Hiberno-Norman aristocratic family of County Limerick^[4] and was educated at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University. He worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in the furniture department.^[3]

He later returned to Ireland, and became active in conservation issues, becoming involved with the Irish Georgian Society. He was appointed its president in 1991. He has also represented the Christie's art auctioneers in Ireland.^[5] He died in Dublin in 2011.^[4]

Family

He first married Loulou de la Falaise. In 1970, he married his second wife, Olda Ann Willes, daughter of Major Thomas and Georgina Willes.

His three daughters are: landscape designer Catherine (who married actor Dominic West in 2010 and was previously married to Ned Lambton), artist Nesta,^[6] and Honor. At the time of his death, he had four grandchildren – Dora, Senan, Francis, and Rose, as well as a step-granddaughter, Martha.^{[citation needed]}

Title

FitzGerald was the last Black Knight; as he had no sons and the title cannot be passed to a daughter, the title became dormant with his death.^[7] A similar title, the Knight of Kerry, is held by his distant cousins.

Glin Castle

FitzGerald divided his time between Glin Castle, Glin, County Limerick, which he inherited as a child, and his Dublin townhouse.^[3]

He devoted his life to restoring the belongings of the castle, which had been sold due to previous financial difficulties, and rebuilding and finishing the remaining parts of the estate including the Georgian house that had remained incomplete for centuries.^[5]

Ancestry