Callaghan MacCarty, 3rd Earl of Clancarty

Callaghan MacCarty
Earl of Clancarty
Tenure	1666–1676
Predecessor	Charles, 3rd Earl of Clancarty
Successor	Donough, 4th Earl of Clancarty
Known for	Former monk or seminarist
Died	21 November 1676
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth FitzGerald
Detail Issue Donough & others
Father	Donough, 1st Earl of Clancarty
Mother	Eleanor Butler

Callaghan MacCarty, 3rd Earl of Clancarty (died 1676) was the second son of Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty. Callaghan was destined for a Catholic religious career and entered a seminary or monastery in France where his family was in exile during Cromwell's rule. However, when his elder brother died in the Battle of Lowestoft, and the 2nd Earl, his nephew, died in infancy, he unexpectedly left his religious institution, returned to Ireland, became a Protestant, and assumed the title. On his deathbed he converted back to Catholicism.

Birth and origins[]

Callaghan was born in the late 1630s or the early 1640s^[a] in County Cork, most likely at Blarney Castle or Macroom Castle, residences of his parents.^[3] He was the second son of Donough MacCarty and his wife Eleanor Butler.^[4] At the time of his birth, Callaghan's father was the 2nd Viscount Muskerry, but he would be advanced to Earl of Clancarty in 1658. His father was a member of the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a Gaelic Irish family descended from the kings of Desmond.^[5] Callaghan's mother was the eldest sister of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond.^[6] Her family, the Butler dynasty, was Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.^[7] Callaghan's parents were both Catholic; they had married before 1641.^[8]

showCallaghan listed among his brothers
He appears among his brothers as the second son: Charles (1633 or 1634 – 1665),[1] also known as Cormac, predeceased his father, being slain in the Battle of Lowestoft, a naval engagement.[14] Callaghan (c. 1638 – 1676) Justin (c. 1643 – 1694), fought for the Jacobites and became Viscount Mountcashel[15][16][2]

showCallaghan's sisters
Helen (died 1722), became Countess of Clanricarde. She married 1st John FitzGerald of Dromana and 2ndly the 7th Earl of Clanricarde.[17] Margaret (died 1704), became Countess of Fingal by marrying Luke Plunket, 3rd Earl of Fingall[18]

Irish wars[]

While Callaghan was a child, his father, Lord Muskerry, in March 1642 joined the Confederates^[19] to defend the Catholic faith and, as he thought, the King.^[20] Muskerry commanded the Confederates' Munster army in the Irish Confederate Wars. In October 1645 Giovanni Battista Rinuccini, the papal nuncio arrived in Ireland and visited Macroom Castle where Callaghan and his family were living.^[21] Muskerry disagreed with Rinuccini's policies and resigned early in August 1647 from his command.^[22]

In May 1647 Muskerry sent Callaghan's elder brother, Cormac, with a regiment to France to serve Louis XIV.^[23] After Rinuccini had left Ireland on 23 February 1649,^[24] Muskerry took up arms again to resist the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland. He fought to the bitter end and surrendered Ross Castle near Killarney to Edmund Ludlow on 27 June 1652, disbanding his 5000-strong army.^[25][26]

To guarantee his compliance with the terms, Muskerry gave one of his sons to Ludlow as hostage.^[27] This son must have been Callaghan, aged 14, as his eldest, Cormac, was with his regiment in France^[23] and Justin, aged 9, was probably with is mother, also in France.

Exile[]

Muskerry was allowed to embark to Spain.^[28] The family's estates were lost in the Act of Settlement of 1652,^[29] passed by the English Rump Parliament on 12 August.^[30]

Some time before the fall of Ross Castle, Muskerry had sent his wife, Callaghan's mother, to safety in France. She was probably accompanied by Callaghan's youngest brother, Justin, and his sisters. His mother lived with her sister Mary Butler, Lady Hamilton, in the convent of the Feuillantines in Paris.^[31]

On 27 November 1658 his father was created Earl of Clancarty by Charles II in Brussels, where the King was then in exile.^[32] By this advancement the title of Viscount of Muskerry became a subsidiary title of the family, which was given as a courtesy title to the Earl's heir apparent. Callaghan's elder brother Charles (or Cormac) was from there on styled Lord Muskerry.^[33] Charles predeceased his father and would therefore never accede to the earldom.^[14]

Restoration[]

At the Restoration Callaghan, aged about 13, and his elder brother, Cormac, stayed behind in France, while his parents, his younger brother, Justin, and his sisters returned to the British Isles. Callaghan was preparing for a religious career in a French monastery, whereas Cormac stayed behind in Dunkirk with his regiment.

According to authors Callaghan was either a monk^[34] or a seminarist.^[35][36]

His father, Earl Clancarty, recovered his estates in the Act of Settlement 1662.

Earl of Clancarty[]

On 4 March 1665, the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out. Three months into the war, on 3 June 1665 O.S., his brother Charles, Lord Muskerry, was killed on the flagship, the Royal Charles, in the Battle of Lowestoft, the first major naval engagement of the war and an English victory.^[14] His brother had an infant son, also named Charles, who succeeded him as heir apparent and Viscount of Muskerry. However, their father, the 1st Earl, died two months later, on 4 August 1665,^[37] and the younger Charles succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Clancarty. The 2nd Earl died about a year later, on 22 September 1666, still an infant.^[38][c]

At this point Justin, the third son, expected to succeed as 3rd Earl, as Callaghan, being is holy orders, would be passed over, but Callaghan hearing of the opening of the succession decided to claim the title. He left the French religious institution and returned to Ireland, where he conformed to the established religion, leaving the Catholic Church and joining the Protestant Church of Ireland. He therefore succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Clancarty.^[34]

Marriage and children[]

Lord Clancarty, as he was now, married Elizabeth FitzGerald, sixth and youngest daughter of George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare and his wife Lady Joan Boyle.^[40][41] The FitzGeralds were an Old English family whose ancestor came to Ireland during the Norman invasion of that country. His wife has been described as "a fierce Protestant isolated in a Catholic family".^[42]

Callaghan and Elizabeth had five children, one son:

• Donough (1668–1734), became the 4th and last Earl of Clancarty^[43]

—and four daughters of whom three are known by name:^[44]

1. Catharine, married Paul Davys, 1st Viscount Mount Cashell^[45]
2. Margaret, died childless^[46]
3. Elizabeth, died childless^[47]

Death, succession, and timeline[]

Clancarty died on 21 November 1676, aged about 38.^[48] He seemed to have returned to his original Catholic religion just before his death, probably by demanding or accepting a ceremony of last unction.^[49] He was succeeded by his only son Donough, aged eight at the time. His widow remarried to Sir William Davys, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and died in 1698.^[41]

showTimeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1638, estimate	Born in Ireland[d]
7	1645, Oct	Met Rinuccini, the papal nuncio, at Macroom Castle where he was living[21]
11	1649, 23 Feb	Rinuccini, the papal nuncio, left Ireland.[24]
11	1649, 15 Aug	Oliver Cromwell landed in Dublin.[50]
14	1652, 27 Jun	Father surrendered Ross Castle.[25]
20	1658, 27 Nov	Father created 1st Earl of Clancarty.[32]
22	1660	Parents and brother Justin returned to England and Ireland with the Restoration.
27	1665, 3 Jun O.S.	Brother Charles killed at the Battle of Lowestoft, a naval engagement with the Dutch.[14]
27	1665, 4 Aug	Father died in London.[51]
28	1666, 22 Sep	Succeeded his nephew as the 3rd Earl of Clancarty[39]
29	1667, about	Married Elizabeth FitzGerald[41]
38	1676, 21 Nov	Died[48]

Notes[]

Notes[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

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• Cokayne, George Edward (1913). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. 3 (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty)
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Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Charles MacCarty	Earl of Clancarty 1666–1676	Succeeded by Donough MacCarty