The Geraldine family was comprised of two great branches. One branch was ruled by the Earl of Desmond, the other by the Earl of Kildare, who was paramount and held the office of Lord Deputy. Being rich and powerful, Kildare had enemies at court who were constantly plotting his overthrow and on many occasions he had to go to England to make his defence against these charges.
In February 1534, Garret Óg FitGerald was summoned to London. He appointed the twenty-one year old son Thomas, Lord Offaly, to be Deputy Governor of Ireland in his absence. In June 1534 Thomas heard rumours that his father had been beheaded in the Tower of London and that the English government intended the same fate for himself and his uncles.
He summoned the Council to St. Mary’s Abbey, Dublin, and on 11 June, accompanied by 140 armoured gallowglasses with silk fringes on their helmets (from which he got his nickname), rode to the Abbey and publicly renounced his allegiance to his cousin King Henry VIII, Lord of Ireland.
The Chancellor, Archbishop John Alen, attempted to persuade him not to commit himself to such a rash proceeding; but the young lord’s harper, understanding only Irish, and seeing signs of wavering in FitzGerald’s bearing, recited a poem in praise of the deeds of his ancestors. Roused by this he threw down the sword of state declaring “I am no longer Henry Tudor’s Deputy, I am his foe” and rushed from the hall.
The Earl of Desmond and many of his father's oldest and best friends reasoned with him; but he was not to be turned from his purpose.
Dublin Castle alone held out for the King of England. Lord Offaly called the lords of the Pale to the siege of the Castle; those who refused to swear fidelity to him he sent as prisoners to his Maynooth Castle. Goods and chattels belonging to the King's subjects he declared forfeited, and he announced his intention of exiling or putting to death all born in England. He sent messengers to his cousin and friend Lord Butler, son of the Earl of Ormond, offering to divide the kingdom with him if he would join his cause, but Butler refused. Several children of the citizens of Dublin in different parts of the Pale were seized as hostages for the good behaviour of the city.
No sooner had Silken Thomas started his rebellion against Henry than the truth emerged: his father had not been beheaded. The forged letters were just another plot to ruin the great Geraldine Family. But there was no turning back for Silken Thomas now.
In July, he attacked Dublin Castle, but his army was routed. He set siege to Dublin, and Alen the Archbishop, and archenemy of the Geraldines fled the city by boat, which was driven ashore on Clontarf, from where the archbishop sought refuge in the village of Artane.
Thomas ordered the execution at Clontarf of Alen, who had tried to mediate. This lost him the support of the Roman Catholic clergy. There is a theory that his men did not understand his order which was given in Gaelic; the order being to ‘take him away’ they took this to mean ‘kill him.’
By this time his father had taken ill and died in London, and Silken Thomas had technically succeeded as 10th Earl, but the Crown never confirmed his title. He retreated to his stronghold at Maynooth Castle, but in March 1535 this was taken by an English force under Sir William Skeffington by bribing a guard, while Thomas was absent gathering reinforcements. The surrendered garrison was put to death, which became known as the Maynooth Pardon. Thomas had wrongly assumed that his cause would attract overwhelming support, in particular from Catholics opposed to Henry VIII's English Reformation. But Henry's new policy also outlawed Lutheranism, and so Henry was not finally excommunicated until 1538.
In July, Lord Leonard Grey arrived from England as Lord Deputy of Ireland; Fitzgerald, seeing his army melting away and his allies submitting one by one, asked pardon for his offences. He was still a formidable opponent, and Grey, wishing to avoid a prolonged conflict, guaranteed his personal safety and persuaded him to submit unconditionally to the King's mercy. In October 1535 he was sent as a prisoner to the Tower. Despite Grey's guarantee, he was executed with his five uncles at Tyburn on 3 February 1537. According to G.G. Nichols, the five uncles were "...draune from the Tower in to Tyborne, and there alle hongyd and hedded and quartered, save the Lord Thomas for he was but hongyd and hedded and his body buried at the Crost Freeres in the qwere..."
Silken Thomas's revolt caused Henry to pay more attention to Irish matters and was a factor in the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1542. In particular, the powers of the lord’s Deputy were curbed, and policies such as ‘Surrender and Regrant’ were introduced.
The mass execution of Silken Thomas and his five uncles did not bring about the end of Geraldine Dynasty as Henry was advised it would. There was a child aged twelve, the sole survivor of the Geraldine House. Protected by loyal friends and relatives, he was safely landed in France four years later. From this child, Gerald, the Geraldine line was preserved and branched out.
Silken Thomas actions affected the course of Irish history.
There is a bar and restaurant in Kildare town of the same name, though I doubt any of the Geraldine clan are working there today!
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