Episode 281: The Silken Thomas Rebellion

Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

Heather Teysko

History

4.6 • 624 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1534, a young Irish noble named Thomas FitzGerald, better known as Silken Thomas, made a bold and reckless decision—he renounced his loyalty to Henry VIII and launched a rebellion against English rule in Ireland. What followed was a dramatic conflict marked by betrayal, brutal warfare, and the total destruction of the FitzGerald dynasty. But why did Thomas rebel? How did he lose so quickly? And how did his failed uprising change the course of Irish history? In this episode, we dive into the Silken Thomas Rebellion, exploring the tensions between England and Ireland, the shocking siege of Maynooth Castle, and the brutal consequences that followed. 🔔 Subscribe for More Tudor History! 📖 Join My Newsletter for Exclusive Tudor Content →englandcast.com/newsletter 🎟️ Spring Break Event Coming Soon! Stay Tuned! 🎟️ Tudorcon 2025 tickets are on sale now! Visit englandcast.com/TudorCon for details. Check out the English in Ireland episode here: https://www.englandcast.com/2019/01/episode-117-the-english-in-ireland/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, hey, hey, hey, friend, welcome. Welcome to the Renaissance English History podcast, a part of the Agora podcast network and the original Tudor history podcast podcast telling stories of Tudor England since 2009.
0:23.2	I am Heather. I am delighted that you are here with me. Today we are going to talk about the
0:30.2	Silken Thomas Rebellion. So in the summer of 1534, there was a young Irish noble named
0:36.5	Thomas Fitzgerald, who stood before an
0:39.1	assembly in St. Mary's Abbey in Dublin and threw down the sort of state, renouncing his loyalty to
0:45.5	Henry VIII. He was 21 years old. Thomas, who was nicknamed Silk and Thomas for the elaborate
0:52.2	silken fringes his followers wore on their helmets, declared
0:56.7	open rebellion against the English crown. It was a reckless move, but in that moment he believed he
1:03.5	was striking a blow for Ireland, for his family's legacy, and perhaps even for his own survival.
1:10.3	It did not end well. By 1537, Thomas and his five
1:14.1	uncles would be executed at Tyburn, the Fitzgerald dynasty would be crushed, and English
1:19.4	rule in Ireland would take a new and harsher turn. But how did it all unravel so quickly? What led
1:26.3	this young Irish lord to gamble everything against
1:29.0	Henry VIII and why did you lose? Today we are going to dive into the dramatic story of the
1:34.9	Silk and Thomas Rebellion, an uprising born out of misinformation, ambition, and the shifting
1:41.3	power dynamics between England and Ireland. Before we begin, though, just a little
1:46.9	heads up, I've got something very special coming up over spring break in a couple of weeks.
1:53.2	It's not quite time for details yet, but if you enjoy diving deep into Tudor history with me,
2:00.0	you are going to want to keep an eye out for an
2:02.5	announcement soon. You can sign up to my newsletter list. If you're not already on there, I send out
2:07.4	weekly news, tutor events at Englandcast.com slash newsletter. Englandcast.com
2:15.6	slash newsletter and you can find out about this exciting spring break
	...

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