Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond

Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, called Maurice the Great (1293–1356), was an Anglo-Irish magnate who succeeded as Baron Desmond in 1307 and was created 1st Earl of Desmond in 1329. In 1331 the Crown imprisoned him amid rumours that he meant to make himself king of Ireland.

In 1345 he led an open rebellion of Anglo-Irish lords until he surrendered and forfeited his lands. Pardoned in 1349, he was made Lord Justice of Ireland for life in July 1355 and died in Dublin Castle the following January.