Background

Kildare was the son of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare

Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare

Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare , also known as the "Wizard Earl" , was an Irish peer....

 and Mabel Browne

Mabel Browne

Mabel Browne, Countess of Kildare was the wife of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, Baron of Offaly . She was born into the English Roman Catholic Browne family whose members held prominent positions at the courts of the Tudorsovereigns for three generations...

.

Military career

Nicknamed Henry "na Tuagh", or Henry "of the Battleaxes", he fought against the Spanish invaders in Ireland in 1588. In 1597 he helped quell the Earl of Tyrone's uprising in Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

, where he was mortally wounded.

Family

Kildare married Lady Frances Howard, daughter of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...

 and Katherine Carey, in 1589. They had no sons and Kildare was succeeded by his brother William FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Kildare.