Carbery, or the Barony of Carbery, was once the largest barony in Ireland, and essentially a small, semi-independent kingdom on the southwestern coast of
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
, in what is now
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, from its founding in the 1230s by
Donal Gott MacCarthy
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
to its gradual decline in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His descendants, the
MacCarthy Reagh
The Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach (anglicised ''MacCarthy Reagh'') dynasty are a branch of the MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the Eóganacht Chaisil sept.
History
The Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach seated themselves as kings of Carbery in ...
dynasty, were its ruling family. The kingdom officially ended in 1606 when
Donal of the Pipes, 17th Prince of Carbery
Donal na Pipi MacCarthy Reagh (Irish: ''Domhnall na bpíopaí Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach'') (died 10 October 1612) was the 17th Prince of Carbery from 1593 to 1606, when he surrendered the principality to the English Crown under the policy of ...
chose to
surrender his territories to the Crown of England; but his descendants maintained their position in Carbery until the
Cromwellian confiscations, following their participation in the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...
after which some emigrated to the
Chesapeake Colonies
The Chesapeake Colonies were the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, later the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Province of Maryland, later Maryland, both colonies located in British America and centered on the Chesapeake Bay. Settlements of the Chesa ...
.
Its modern descendants in name are the baronies of
Carbery West
Carbery West ( ga, Cairbrigh Thiar) is a barony in County Cork in Ireland. It has been split since the nineteenth century into East and West Divisions (''an Roinn Thoir/Thiar'').
Legal context
Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of I ...
and
Carbery East
Carbery East ( ga, Cairbrigh Thoir) is a barony in County Cork in Ireland. It has been split since the nineteenth century into East and West Divisions (''an Roinn Thoir/Thiar'').
Legal context
Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of I ...
, but Carbery once included territories from several of the surrounding baronies as well. To the north/northwest it shared a long and shifting border with the
Kingdom of Desmond
The Kingdom of Desmond () was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond (, "North ...
ruled by the rival
MacCarthy Mor dynasty
MacCarthy ( ga, Mac Cárthaigh), also spelled Macarthy, McCarthy or McCarty, is an Irish clan originating from Munster, an area they ruled during the Middle Ages. It was divided into several great branches; the MacCarthy Reagh, MacCarthy of Mu ...
, and to the east/northeast an also shifting border with the vast
Earldom of Desmond
Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates, s ...
.
However, despite its small size in comparison to its neighbours, Carbery was one of the very wealthiest principalities in Ireland. This wealth came not, for the most part, from its predominantly rocky lands, but from its numerous excellent harbours, and greatest proximity to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Some of the eastern portion of the principality was however quite fertile. The MacCarthys Reagh were reported to have the greatest income of all the Gaelic princes in Ireland. Only the Earls of Desmond, who were intermittently able to force the MacCarthys to pay them tribute in order to avoid continual harassment, were wealthier.
Carbery is fortunate to be very well documented for a medieval Irish principality, the sources being diverse and fairly copious.
In 1621, an
Earldom of Carbery was created for
John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery
John Vaughan, 1st Earl of Carbery (1574 or 1575 – 6 May 1634) was a Welsh courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601 and from 1621 to 1622. He served Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and later Prince Charles, heir to ...
, and this became extinct in 1713 with the death of
John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery
John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery KB, PRS (baptised 8 July 1639 – 12 January 1713), styled Lord Vaughan from 1643 to 1686, was a Welsh nobleman and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Jamaica between 1675 and 1678.
Life
He ...
. Two years later, the barony was granted to the
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
politician
George Evans, whose descendants still hold the title of
Baron Carbery
Baron Carbery, of Carbery in the County of Cork, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1715 for George Evans, with remainder to the heirs male of his father and namesake George Evans, a supporter of William and Mary during the ...
.
Name and founding
Seeds of the later Carbery kingdom began to develop in the 13th century. At 1200, the Uí Chairbre were primarily composed of and ruled by the Uí Donnobhains (now O'Donovans), occupying areas in their historical territory near Adare, Croom and Bruree. In both 1200 and 1205, MacCarthaigs are recorded as being in conflict with the Uí Chairbre.
At that time the Carbery region was still ruled by the powerful
Eóganacht Raithlind
Eóganacht Raithlind or Uí Echach Muman are a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster in southwest Ireland during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Raithlinn or Raithleann described around the area of Bandon, i ...
in the form of the
O'Mahony
O'Mahony (Old Irish: ''Ó Mathghamhna''; Modern Irish: ''Ó Mathúna'') is the original name of the clan, with breakaway clans also spelled O'Mahoney, or simply Mahony, Mahaney and Mahoney, without the prefix. Brodceann O'Mahony was the eldest of ...
s, and to a lesser but still notable extent by the even more ancient
Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde (Corcu Lóegde, Corco Luigde, Corca Laoighdhe, Laidhe), meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centred in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Mun ...
in the form of the O'Driscolls. By 1232,
Donal Gott MacCarthy
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
and his sons had effected a decisive conquest and effected a major change in their territory. During the remainder of the 13th century, infighting and splintering within the MacCarthaigs led to the establishment of several MacCarthy septs, with territories in Duhallow, Coshmaine, Muscrery and what would become the larger clan lands of MacCarthy Mor and MacCarthy Reagh. By 1283, one of the MacCarthy splinter groups (and which would ultimately become the sept of MacCarthy Reagh) was noted as being part of the Ui Chairbre, when Domnall, son of Domnall Cairprech MacCarthaig, and others of the Uí Chairbri made a treacherous plot against Domnall Mac Carthaig, king of Desmond. The plot failed, and the Uí Chairbre fled, ultimately resettling in Carbery. The many movements of the clans during the 13th century resulted in the relocation of many of the septs in the area, including those of the O'Mahonys, O'Driscolls. The
O'Leary
History Ancient
The Uí Laoghaire clan, today associated with the Uibh Laoghaire parish in County Cork, is considered by scholars to have originated in the early Middle Ages on the south-west coast, in the area of Ros Ó gCairbre (Rosscarbery), ...
s of ancient Rosscarbery, close kin to the O'Driscolls, retired northwards to Muskerry sometime around the year 1300.
The source of the naming of the Carberry area has been debated by many scholars, with John O'Donovan arguing it came from the migration of the O'Donovans of Uí Chairbre (and who ignored the MacCarthaig element within the Uí Chairbre), and others, most notably Canon John O'Mahony in his monumental ''History of the O'Mahony Septs'', arguing that the name derived from much earlier (circa 300 AD) rulers, and from whom descended the O'Driscolls and the O'Mahonys and which occupied the region from the 5th or 6th century AD onwards, in Late Antiquity.
Beginning with the expansion of the MacCarthaig territory in a north east direction in 1259 as certain MacCarthaig septs recaptured a significant amount of land from the Normans, demolished a multitude of their castles, occupying others, and built a considerable string of their own fortresses, the territory of Carbery was expanded to as much as 500 square miles by 1500.
History
The history of Carbery for the next three centuries is almost entirely the history of the sept of the MacCarthy Reagh. Less active septs (or for which fewer events were recorded), were the O'Mahonys, the O'Driscolls, and the O'Donovans which had migrated to the Carbery area.
Piracy
The O'Driscolls were Ireland's greatest seafarers and thus were Carbery's most capable pirates, for which they are noted in the sources. The O'Donovans also had some seafaring capability, and are noted for at least a little piracy as well, for which one, along with his O'Driscoll accomplices, was killed in 1551, by the O'Driscoll themselves.
Other families
Leading among the remaining Gaelic families of great note in Carbery were the
O'Crowleys, a military family of
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
origin, an offshoot of the princely
MacDermot
Mac Diarmada (anglicised as MacDermot or McDermott), also spelled Mac Diarmata, is an Irish surname, and the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries. The last ruling king was T ...
s of
Moylurg
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda, Anglicised as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day County Roscommon, Ireland. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of Connacht from c. 956–1585. ...
. They were of verifiable princely extraction and in 1597 were named as the only other lords (freeholders) under the MacCarthys Reagh after the above-mentioned families. Initially brought to Carbery in a war with the Kingdom of Desmond to the north in 1283, they first found themselves in hostile territory. But later they became close vassals of the MacCarthys and were listed among the "followers, cosens and kinsmen" of the famous
Florence MacCarthy in 1594. He had charged them to keep his castle of
Timoleague
Timoleague () is a village in the eastern division of Carbery East in County Cork, Ireland. It is located along Ireland's southern coast between Kinsale and Clonakilty, on the estuary of the Argideen River. Nearby is the village of Courtmacs ...
for him while imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. Later they were the leading supporters of his brother
Dermod Maol MacCarthy and for this were condemned to have their lands wasted in 1602 by
Sir George Carew
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
.
Carbery was also blessed to have a branch of one of Ireland's greatest bardic families of all time, the
Ó Dálaigh
The Ó Dálaigh () were a learned Irish Bardic poetry, bardic family who first came to prominence early in the 12th century, when Cú Connacht Ó Dálaigh was described as "The first ''Ollamh'' of poetry in all Ireland" (''ollamh'' is the title g ...
, or O'Dalys.
The
Ó Coileáin (Anglicised: ''O'Collins, Collins''), of
County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Munster
, subdivision ...
origin and cousins to the O'Donovans above, are also noted in Carbery, but not as lords or great landholders, although a number were in military service. The majority of them are believed to have belonged to a junior sept of the Uí Choileáin princes of the
Uí Chonaill Gabra, who had managed to hold some of their lands in western Limerick for several centuries in spite of the Normans. It is not precisely known when this junior sept arrived in Carbery but it is believed they followed the O'Donovans after both were weakened from the intrusion into the Uí-Fidghente territory of the O'Donovans and the O'Collins circa 1200. The chief of the O'Collins was killed about 1197, and that of the O'Donovans in 1200, by an alliance of the O'Brians, the MacCarthy and William DeBurgo and other Norman settlers, with both events contributing to a migration to Carbery of parts of their septs during the next century.
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
, believed his family were descendants of the Uí Chonaill Gabra.
[Coogan, pp. 5–6] They belonged to the minor landed gentry of Carbery, and were situated in very near to O'Donovans country.
Princes of Carbery
The MacCarthy Reagh sept stems from Donal Gott MacCarthy holding the lordship of Carbery which he acquired during his tenure as King of Desmond. Donal Gott had several children. His eldest son, Dermod Don, succeeded him to the lordship upon his death in 1252. Donal Maol MacCarthy, the sixth son of Donal Gott, came into the lordship upon his brother's death in 1262. It was not until 1280 that the territory of Carbery was formally ceded to Donal Maol as an autonomous principality. As such, the family was subsequently regarded as 'Prince of Carbery.' This history is what has contributed to a confusion in the numbering of the "Princes," as some consider Donal Gott the first Prince of Carbery and others more correctly attribute Donal Maol as the first.
*
Donal Gott MacCarthy
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
, King of Desmond, Lord of Carbery
**
Fínghin Mac Carthaigh - victor at the
Battle of Callann
The Battle of Callann was fought in August 1261 between the Hiberno-Normans, under John FitzGerald, and three Gaelic clans: MacCarthy, who held the Kingdom of Desmond, under Fínghin Mac Carthaigh, King of Desmond, ancestor of the MacCar ...
* Dermod Don, Lord of Carbery
* Donal Maol, 1st Prince of Carbery
* Donal Reagh MacCarthy, 5th Prince of Carbery, from whom the sept assumed the agnomen "Reagh".
*
Finghin MacCarthy Reagh, 10th Prince of Carbery
*
Donal MacFineere MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
*
Cormac na Haoine MacCarthy Reagh, 13th Prince of Carbery
* Donogh MacCarthy Reagh, 15th Prince of Carbery - father of
Florence MacCarthy and Dermod Maol MacCarthy
*
Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 16th Prince of Carbery
*
Domhnall na bpíob Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach, 17th Prince of Carbery
See also
*
Counts of Toulouse
The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings,
the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...
*
Donal II O'Donovan
Donal II O'Donovan ( ga, Domhnall Ó Donnabháin), The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill (died 1639), was the son of Ellen O'Leary, daughter of O'Leary of Inchigeelagh, Carrignacurra, and Donal of the Skins, The O'Donovan of Clann Ca ...
*
Sir Fineen O'Driscoll
Sir Fineen O'Driscoll (died 1629) was an Irish lord who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. He was more commonly known as The Rover and also known as Fineen of the Ships. He was married to Eileen, daughter of Owen MacCarthy Reagh, Sir Owen MacCarth ...
*
Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy
Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy ( ga, Tadhg an Duna Mac Carthaigh) (1584 – 24 May 1649), Lord of Glean-na-Chroim, was the last hereditary Prince of the Dunmanway branch of the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty of Carbery (barony), Carbery "who exercised the ri ...
*
Donal III O'Donovan
*
Carbery's Hundred Isles
Carbery's Hundred Isles are the islands along the coast of the Baronies of Carbery West and Carbery East, successors to the medieval Barony of Carbery, on the Celtic Sea, in the far south-west of Ireland. It is a term which includes those island ...
*
Carbery GAA
Carbery GAA is a Gaelic football and Hurling division in the south-west area of County Cork, Ireland. The division is one of eight divisions of the Cork County Board and a division is responsible for organising competitions for the clubs within ...
*
Earl of Carbery
Earl of Carbery, in the County of Cork, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1628 for the Welsh courtier and politician John Vaughan, 1st Baron Vaughan. He had already been created Baron Vaughan, of Mullingar in the ...
*
Baron Carbery
Baron Carbery, of Carbery in the County of Cork, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1715 for George Evans, with remainder to the heirs male of his father and namesake George Evans, a supporter of William and Mary during the ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Barry, E.,
Barrymore: Records of the Barrys of County Cork'. Cork: Guy and Co. Ltd. 1902. (Reprinted from the ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society'')
* Butler, W.F.T., "The Barony of Carbery", in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume X, Second Series'. 1904. pp. 1–10, 73–84
*
Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet
Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet PC (25 March 1650 – 3 May 1733) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland from 1701 to 1703, Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1703 to 1707 and as Lord Chief Justice ...
, ''Carberiae Notitia''. 1686. extracts published in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume XII, Second Series'. 1906. pp. 142–9
* Donovan, Daniel,
Sketches in Carbery, County Cork. Its Antiquities, History, Legends, and Topography'. Dublin: McGlashan & Gill. 1876.
* MacCarthy, Samuel Trant, ''The MacCarthys of Munster''. 1922
Summary in French*Moody, Terry (2011). A New History of Ireland. A Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 157.
*
O'Donovan, John (ed. and tr.), ''
Annála Ríoghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1616''. 7 vols.
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
. Dublin. 1848-51. 2nd edition, 1856
Volume VI (appendix)* O'Donovan, John (ed. and tr.), "The Genealogy of Corca Laidhe", in
Miscellany of the Celtic Society'. Dublin. 1849
alternative scan*
O'Hart, John,
Irish Pedigrees'. Dublin: James Duffy and Co. 5th edition, 1892.
* O'Mahony, John,
A History of the O'Mahony septs of Kinelmeky and Ivagha, in ''Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volumes 12-16, Second Series''. 1906-1910.
* Ó Murchadha, Diarmuid, ''Family Names of County Cork''. Cork: The Collins Press. 2nd edition, 1996.
* Smith, Charles, eds. Robert Day and W. A. Copinger, ''The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork
Volume IVolume II'' 1750. Cork: Guy & Co. Ltd. 1893.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carbery, Barony of
Baronies of County Cork
Former monarchies of Europe
MacCarthy dynasty
O'Donovan family