When looking for a creative way to name my company -- and let people know they are working with a scrappy lass of Irish descent -- I did some heritage research. And this is what I found:

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Way back in the 12th century, Gerald de Windsor, a Welshman, was Constable of Pembroke in Wales and was married to Nesta, the Princess of Wales. Gerald and Nesta had a son named Maurice. Maurice was a knight who accompanied Strongbow in the Anglo-Norman invasion in the year 1169, and he became known as “the Invader of Ireland.” 

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Upon invading Ireland, he was named by the locals... Maurice FitzGerald (Maurice, the "son of" Gerald).

 

As legend goes, one of the family castles once caught on fire. John Fitzgerald, the infant heir, (from whom the Earls of Desmond in Kildare are descended), would have perished in his cradle had not a pet monkey broken his chain and escaped with the baby, saving him from the flames. In remembrance of this escape, the grown Earl later added the monkey to the family coat of arms. 

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The FitzGerald clan have maintained presence in 3 major areas in the south/southwest counties in Ireland for over 1,000 years. In addition to Kilkea Castle in Kildare (currently open and operating as a wonderful vacation spot with golf and spa!), Croom Castle is another of the family castles, and its ruins can be found today 160km southwest from Kilkea, and just a few miles outside the town of Adare in County Limerick.

 

The war cry of the Kildares was "Crom abu", which means "Victory to Croom.”

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Crom Abu!

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