Gerald FitzGerald inherited the title of
Earl of Kildare in 1477. He was appointed
Lord Deputy in 1477, but was quickly replaced by
Lord Grey of Codnor on the supposition that an Englishman could do the job better. The Lords of
the Pale set up a breakaway Parliament in protest, and
Edward IV was forced to re-install Lord Kildare. Kildare managed to keep his position after the
York dynasty in England was toppled and
Henry VII became king, but Kildare blatantly disobeyed King Henry on several occasions; he supported the
pretender to the throne of England and the
Lordship of Ireland,
Lambert Simnel. Henry needed Lord Kildare to rule in Ireland, but found it almost impossible to control him. Simnel's attempt to seize the throne ended in disaster at the
Battle of Stoke Field and many of his supporters, including Kildare's brother
Thomas, were killed. Henry, now secure on his throne, could afford to be merciful and pardoned both Simnel and Kildare. Kildare was shrewd enough not to commit himself to the cause of the later pretender
Perkin Warbeck, despite Henry's caustic comment that the Irish nobility would
crown an ape to secure more power for themselves. He presided over a period of near independence from English rule between 1477 and 1494. This independence ended when his enemies in Ireland seized power and had him sent to London as a
traitor. He suffered a double blow: he was imprisoned in the
Tower of London, and his wife Alison died soon after, reportedly of grief at his arrest. He was tried in 1496, and used the trial to convince Henry VII that the ruling factions in Ireland were "false knaves". The
Archbishop of Cashel accused Lord Kildare of burning down his
cathedral. Kildare responded, "I would not have done it if I had not been told that My Lord Archbishop was inside." This frankness delighted the King. Henry immediately appointed him as
Lord Deputy of Ireland, saying "All Ireland cannot govern this Earl; then let this Earl govern all Ireland"; and allowed him to marry as his second wife Elizabeth St. John, a distant cousin of the King. Kildare returned to Ireland in triumph. He ruled Ireland with an iron fist. He suppressed a rebellion in the city of
Cork in 1500 by hanging the city's mayor, Maur. Roche. He raised up an army against rebels in
Connacht in August 1504, defeating them at the
Battle of Knockdoe. A year later, on an expedition against the O'Carrolls, he was mortally wounded while watering his horse in the
River Greese at
Kilkea. He was conveyed back to Kildare, where he died on or around 3 September 1513. ==Character==