“ In 1329 Maurice Fitzthomas or Fitzgerald (d. 1356) , lord of Decies and Desmond, was created 1st earl of Desmond by Edward III.; like other earls created about that time he ruled his territory as a palatinate, and his family acquired enormous powers and a large measure of independence. Meanwhile native kings continued to reign in a restricted territory until 1596. In 1583 came the attainder of Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th earl of Desmond (q.v.) , and in 1586 an act of parliament declared the forfeiture of the Desmond estates to the crown. ”