University of Limerick president, Professor Don Barry has expressed his sadness at the passing last week of the 29th Knight of Glin, Desmond John Villiers Fitzgerald.
“UL was privileged that the Knight presented the Glin Papers to the Special Collections Department of the Glucksman Library in 2001 and I know I speak for the UL community in expressing our sadness at his passing.
“I want to convey our condolences to his wife, Olda and family.”
Professor Barry said that the links between UL and the Knight go back a long way.
“We are proud to be the custodians of the Glin Papers which are a unique archive of one of Ireland’s great families that have been and will continue to be a source of great scholarship and learning.”
Prof. Barry said that the Knights of Glin are a Geraldine family whose title can be traced back to circa.1260 and who have lived continuously in the Glin area.
“The early family history reveals the struggle of a Catholic landed family against English rule before its capitulation when the Penal Laws came into effect. The family moved from being medieval Norman overlords and Irish chieftains to Anglo-Irish gentry in the 18th century. Unfortunately, the papers do not reflect the long history of the family as many of the older documents were lost in the 1870’s.
The Knight’s death last Thursday signals the end of a 700-year run of an unbroken line of knights living at Glin Castle since 1169 when the title was first created by Irish Chieftains and recognised by governments down through the years.
Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald has been described as a charming, passionate and intelligent man who is survived by his wife Olda and their three daughters, Catherine, Nesta and Honor who were all at his bedside as he passed away at a Limerick Hospice after his two year battle with cancer.
Having become the 29th knight of Glin aged just 12, he was educated in Trinity and then at Harvard University and was regarded as a learned man who was a leading light in Irish architecture and fine art. He worked as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London before his return to the Castle in Glin, which was built in the 1790s.
As president of the Irish Georgian Society, the Knight of Glin worked tirelessly for the upkeep and future of Irish Country Houses.
He was also the author of a number of books and studies and oversaw the publication of The Knights of Glin, Seven Centuries of Change.
He had a close link with the local community that surrounded the castle and worked tirelessly to establish and rekindle the history and heritage that surrounded his title, family and castle.
With close links to the River Shannon as the acreage sits on its banks, Glin Castle and the Knight of Glin, had played host to the Glin Castle Yacht Race that was first raced in 1827.
