Helen Burke, Countess Clanricarde (''née'' MacCarty; – 1722), also styled Helen FitzGerald, was brought to France by her mother fleeing the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, against which her father,
the 2nd Earl Muskerry, resisted to the bitter end. In France, she was educated at the abbey of
Port-Royal-des-Champs
Port-Royal-des-Champs was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions.
History
The abbey was established in 1204, but became fa ...
together with her cousin
Elizabeth Hamilton. She married three times. All her children were by her second husband,
William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde
William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, PC (Ire) (; ; died 1687), was an Irish peer who fought in his youth together with his brother Richard, 6th Earl of Clanricarde under their cousin, Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde against the P ...
. She was the mother of
Ulick Burke, 1st Viscount Galway
Ulick Burke, 1st Viscount Galway (; ; – 1691) was an Irish army officer slain at the Battle of Aughrim while fighting for the Jacobites during the Williamite War in Ireland.
Birth and origins
Ulick was born about 167 ...
,
Margaret, Viscountess Iveagh, and
Honora Sarsfield.
Birth and origins
Helen was probably born in the early 1640s, probably at
Macroom Castle
Macroom Castle, in the centre of the town of Macroom, was once residence and fortress of the Lords of Muskerry. The castle has changed owners many times, has been besieged, burned, and rebuilt. The MacCarthys of Muskerry owned it with some inter ...
, County Cork, Ireland, her parents' habitual residence. She was the eldest daughter of
Donough MacCarty and his wife Eleanor Butler. At the time of Helen's birth, her father was the 2nd Viscount Muskerry, but he would be advanced to
Earl of Clancarty
Earl of Clancarty is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland.
History
The title was created for the first time in 1658 in favour of Donough MacCarty, 2nd Viscount Muskerry, of the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty. He had ...
in 1658. Her father's family were the
MacCartys of Muskerry, a
Gaelic Irish
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
dynasty that branched from the
MacCarthy-Mor line with Dermot MacCarthy, second son of Cormac MacCarthy-Mor, a medieval
Prince of Desmond. This second son had been granted the Muskerry area as
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
.
Helen's mother was the eldest sister of
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond
Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...
. Her mother's family, the
Butler dynasty
Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde ...
, was
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
and descended from
Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by
King Henry II in 1177. Helen's parents were both Catholic. They had married before 1641.
Helen had three brothers and one sister,
which are listed in his father's article.
Irish wars
She was a child while her father, Lord Muskerry, commanded the
Confederates' Munster army and fought the
Parliamentarians in the
Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland. He fought to the bitter end, surrendering
Ross Castle
Ross Castle ( ga, Caisleán an Rois) is a 15th-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. It is the ancestral home of the Chiefs of the Clan O'Donoghue, later associated wit ...
near
Killarney
Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...
to
Edmund Ludlow
Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source ...
on 27 June 1652 and disbanding his 5000-strong army. He was allowed to embark to Spain. He lost his estates in 1652 with the Cromwellian
Act of Settlement
The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...
. Arriving in Spain he found that he was not welcome and returned to Ireland in 1653, where he was put on trial for the murder of English settlers in 1642. He was, however, acquitted.
Exile
Helen, aged about ten, her mother, her sister Margaret, and her brother Justin had fled to France already sometime before the fall of Ross Castle. Her mother lived with her sister Mary, Lady Hamilton, in the convent of the
Feuillantines in Paris, and Helen was sent to boarding school at the abbey of Cistercian nuns of
Port-Royal-des-Champs
Port-Royal-des-Champs was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions.
History
The abbey was established in 1204, but became fa ...
, near Versailles, together with her cousin
Elizabeth Hamilton. This school had an excellent reputation and was ahead of its time by teaching in French rather than in Latin. She attended this school for seven or eight years. The abbey also was a stronghold of
Jansenism
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
, a Catholic religious movement that insisted on earnestness and asceticism. In 1658 her father was created Earl of Clancarty by Charles II in Brussels, where he was then in exile.
Restoration and first marriage
At the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
her father returned to Ireland and recovered his estates in 1660 and was confirmed in their possession in the
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 was passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliam ...
.
Helen stayed behind in France at her convent. However, Jansenism was declared heretic for its stance on
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
and
original sin. Helen was forcibly removed from the abbey in 1661 and was accommodated by
Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes
Louis-Charles d'Albert de Luynes, 2nd Duke of Luynes (25 December 1620 – 10 October 1690), was a French nobleman and peer of France. He was a translator and moralist who was the first translator of the work of René Descartes.
Early life
Loui ...
.
Her brother Charles, Viscount Muskerry, as he was now, attended the court in Whitehall together with his wife, who was ridiculed by
Elizabeth Hamilton who had been together with her at school.
Helen MacCarty soon married
Sir John FitzGerald, Lord of the Decies, seated at
Dromana House near Villierstown, County Waterford, as his second wife. His first wife had been Katherine Power, second daughter of
John Power, 5th Baron Power, of Curraghmore
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
, whom he had married in 1658 and who had died on 22 August 1660. John and Katherine had had an only child,
Katherine FitzGerald, Viscountess Grandison
Katherine FitzGerald, suo jure Viscountess Grandison (1660–1725), was a wealthy Irish heiress, being the only child of Sir John FitzGerald of Dromana, County Waterford. She inherited the Dromana estate in 1664 upon the death of her father. She ...
, who would marry
Edward FitzGerald-Villiers
Edward FitzGerald-Villiers (c. 1654 – January 1693) was an Anglo-Irish soldier in the English Army from the Villiers family.
He was the eldest son of George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison and his wife Mary, daughter of Francis Leigh, 1st E ...
and become the mother of
John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison
John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison, 5th Viscount Grandison (c.1684 – 14 May 1766) was an Anglo-Irish peer from the Villiers family.
Grandison was the son of Brigadier-General Hon. Edward FitzGerald-Villiers and Katherine FitzGerald. His ...
. Helen's first marriage was childless and lasted only one or two years as Decies died in 1662.
[233, line 2](_blank)
/>
In 1665 her brother Charles, Lord Muskerry, was killed during the Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...
(1665–1667) in the Battle of Lowestoft
The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size comm ...
, a naval engagement with the Dutch.
Second marriage
Her second marriage was to William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde
William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, PC (Ire) (; ; died 1687), was an Irish peer who fought in his youth together with his brother Richard, 6th Earl of Clanricarde under their cousin, Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde against the P ...
, which brought her the title of Countess of Clanricarde in the Peerage of Ireland. Clanricarde already had sons from a previous marriage, two of whom would succeed him as the 8th
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
and the 9th earls.
William and Helen had four children:
# Ulick (1670–1691), created Viscount of Galway and slain at the Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivale ...
fighting for the Jacobites
# Margaret (1673–1744), married first Bryan Magennis, 5th Viscount Iveagh Bryan Magennis, 5th Viscount Iveagh (c.1655 – September 1692) was an Irish Jacobite peer and soldier.
Magennis was the son of Hugh Magennis, 4th Viscount Iveagh and Rose O'Neill, and in 1684 he succeeded to his father's peerage. He was a suppor ...
and then Thomas Butler of Garryricken
Colonel Thomas Butler of Garryricken (died 1738), also known as Thomas Butler of Kilcash was an Irish Jacobite soldier. He commanded a regiment, Thomas Butler's foot, during the Williamite War and fought at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 where ...
#William, died childless
# Honora (1674–1698), married first Patrick Sarsfield
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland.
Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...
and then the Duke of Berwick
Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...
She seems to have lived at Portumna Castle
Portumna Castle is a semi-fortified house in Portumna, County Galway, Ireland which was built in the early 17th century by Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde.
Location
Portumna Castle is located close to the shore of Lough Derg near whe ...
. At least it is known that her daughter Honora was born there.[21](_blank)
/>
Her father, Lord Clancarty, died in London on 4 August 1665. Her husband Clanricarde died in 1687 and was succeeded by his son Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
from his first marriage as the 8th Earl of Clanricarde. She was now about 46 years old. In 1689 her brother Justin lost the Battle of Newtownbutler
The Battle of Newtownbutler took place near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1689 and was part of the Williamite War in Ireland between the forces of William III and Mary II and those of King James II.
The war in Western Ulst ...
against the Inniskilleners and was taken prisoner. Her son Ulick was killed along with many senior Jacobite officers at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.
Third marriage, death, and timeline
Helen married again, sometime between 1687 and 1700, to Colonel Thomas Burke. The marriage was childless. Her husband died in about 1719 and she died on 15 February 1721 at Kilcash Castle
Kilcash Castle is a ruined castle off the N24 road just west of Ballydine in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is in the care of the Irish State. The Butler dynasty has important links to the area.
History
The main castle building is a fortifi ...
, the house of her daughter, Margaret. Her substantial fortune was the subject of much legal dispute in succeeding generations.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
* – Jim Burke!
* – Abdy to Hutchinson (for Clanricarde)
* (for MacCarty)
*
*
*
* – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty and Clanricarde)
* – 1649 to 1782
* – Scotland and Ireland
* – 1625 to 1655
* – Google Books no preview
* – (for timeline)
*
*
* – Blood royal, dukes, earls (for Clanricarde)
* – Viscounts (for Thurles)
* – Irish stem
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCarty, Helen
17th-century Irish people
18th-century Irish people
Daughters of Irish earls
Clanricarde
Clanricarde (; ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
T ...
MacCarthy dynasty
People from County Cork
People from County Galway