In the early years of the Alpine Club (founded in 1857) its membership consisted, by and large, of upper class professionals. The law, religion, medicine and business provided the majority of members. Gerald Fitzgerald was one such Irish member of the AC who reached the apogee of the legal profession.
John David, Gerald's father was also a prominent member of the legal profession in Ireland - a catholic, he was liberal in politics and became independent liberal MP for Ennis, Co. Clare (1852–60). He presided over a number of important cases including the trial of the Fenian leaders (1865) and of Charles Stewart Parnell and thirteen others for conspiracy to encourage tenant farmers to avoid paying rent. (see DIB for more details).
 |
| Aig du Telefre (Summit Post) |
Gerald was the third son of Rose Donohoe, a Dublin distillers's daughter and the father's first wife. There were ten siblings with the second wife. Little detail is available on his early life and education but he graduated (BA) from Trinity in 1869, was called to the bar in 1871 and was county court judge for Sligo, Roscommon, Longford, Meath, Westmeath and King's Co (Offaly).
He joined the Alpine Club in 1876 and is recorded climbing the Matterhorn in 1877 with his last recorded climb in 1911. Some of his early climbs were with F.J. Cullinan - col de Miage, Aiguille du Midi and 1st ascent of Aig du Telefre.
From 1885 he climbed frequently with Sir William Edward Davidson, another, British, 'legal eagle', with whom he made a number of ground breaking climbs.
 |
| Alpine Club |
No comments:
Post a Comment