Geraldine League
In 1537 Lord Thomas Fitzgerald and his five uncles were executed for rebellion in Leinster, and the English government made every effort to capture Gerald FitzGerald, the heir to the earldom of Kildare, a boy of twelve who was in the secret custody of his aunt Lady Eleanor McCarthy. This lady, in order to secure a powerful protector for the boy, accepted an offer of marriage from Manus O'Donnell, who on the death of Hugh Dubh in July 1537 was inaugurated as "The O'Donnell". Conn O'Neill was a relative of Gerald Fitzgerald, and this event accordingly led to the formation of the short-lived Geraldine League, a federation including the O'Neills, the O'Donnells, the O'Briens of Thomond, and other powerful clans; the primary object of which was to restore Gerald to the earldom of Kildare, but which afterwards aimed at the complete overthrow of English rule in Ireland.
Read more about this topic: Manus O'Donnell
Famous quotes containing the word league:
“He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the wild animals of the earth. For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the wild animals shall be at peace with you.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 5:19-23.