Short answers, pulled from the story.
Lady Joan Fitzgerald was an Irish noblewoman, born probably in 1514 in Munster, who married three times across the rival FitzGerald and Butler dynasties. She is significant for her role as a diplomatic peacemaker in southern Ireland, recognized by Queen Elizabeth I for her ability to maintain peace between hereditary enemies.
Lady Joan Fitzgerald married three times. Her first husband was James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; her second was Francis Bryan, a courtier known as the "Vicar of Hell"; and her third was Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, her second cousin.
Joan's first husband James Butler had been proposed as a bridegroom for Anne Boleyn in 1522, as a way to settle a dispute over the Ormond title. Those negotiations collapsed for unknown reasons, and Anne later married King Henry VIII instead.
The Battle of Affane was fought on the 8th of February 1565, just weeks after Joan died on the 2nd of January. Her Butler son Thomas and her widower Gerald FitzGerald fought one another, with Thomas taking Gerald captive. It marked the end of the peace Joan had spent years sustaining.
Joan is directly quoted as saying: "While I was a widow and not married to an Englishman, I defended and kept my own, or at the least, no man went about to defeat me of my right." The statement reflects her frustration at losing legal independence upon marrying the English courtier.
Lady Joan Fitzgerald died on the 2nd of January 1565 at Askeaton, County Limerick. She was buried at the Franciscan Friary of Askeaton.