Desmond John Villiers FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin, (13 July 1937 – 14 September 2011), was an Anglo-Irish hereditary knight and author. FitzGerald served as the President of the Irish Georgian Society from 1991 until his death in 2011.
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Career
The only son of Desmond FitzGerald, 28th Knight of Glin (1901–1949), and Veronica Villiers (younger daughter of Ernest Villiers ), FitzGerald was born at Paddington, London, into an ancient Hiberno-Norman aristocratic family from County Limerick 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.
FitzGerald 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 also represented the Christie's art auctioneers in Ireland. He died at Dublin in 2011.
Family
On 6 October 1966, FitzGerald married firstly Loulou de La Falaise (sep. 1967; div. 1970), only daughter of Count Alain Le Bailly de La Falaise. He married secondly on 12 August 1970, Olda Ann Willes, only daughter of Major Thomas Willes and Georgina née Wakefield-Saunders; his widow is styled Madam FitzGerald and divides her time between homes in Limerick, Dublin and London.
His three daughters are: landscape designer Catherine (who married actor Dominic West in 2010 and was previously married to Ned Lambton), artist Nesta, and Honor. At the time of his death, he had four grandchildren – Dora, Senan, Francis, and Rose, as well as a step-granddaughter, Martha.
Noble title
FitzGerald was the last Black Knight; as he had no sons and the family title cannot pass to a daughter, the hereditary knighthood of Glin became dormant upon his death. 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.
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.