The Fair Geraldine and the Tudor Court

Dress historian, Melissa Shiels, will give a costumed talk on the courtly career of Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the Fair Geraldine, exploring the types of clothing she wore in her life in Ireland and at court, and how she used her connections to protect the House of Kildare. Melissa is the winner of the Lord Walter Fitzgerald prize for her essay on the Fair Geraldine, presented by the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society.

This will be the inaugural Joseph Connelly Lecture to commemorate the passion and dedication of the mentor of Cill Dara Society who passed away in 2025. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.