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Justin McCarthy, 1st Viscount Mountcashel, PC (Ire) ( – 1694), was a Jacobite general in the Williamite War in Ireland and a personal friend of James II. He commanded Irish Army troops during the conflict, enjoying initial success when he seized Bandon in
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 a ...
in 1689. However, he was defeated and captured at the Battle of Newtownbutler later in the same year. He escaped and was accused of having broken parole. After the end of the war, he led an Irish Brigade overseas for service in the French Army. He died in French exile.


Birth and origins

Justin was born about 1643, probably in
Blarney Blarney () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork City in Ireland. It is located approximately north-west of the city centre. It is the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone. Blarney is part of the Dáil ...
, County Cork, Ireland. He was the third son of Donough McCarthy and his wife Eleanor Butler. At the time of his birth, Justin's father was the 2nd Viscount Muskerry, but he would be advanced to Earl of Clancarty in 1658. His father's family were the MacCartys of Muskerry, a Gaelic Irish 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. Justin's mother was the eldest sister of James Butler, at that time Marquess of Ormond. Her family, the Butlers, were
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 ...
and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. Justin's parents were both Catholic; they had married before 1641.


Irish wars

Justin was born during the
Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
in the part of Ireland that was then held by the Irish confederacy. His father was then a member of the confederacy's Supreme Council and commander of its Munster army. Justin was two in 1645 when his mother hosted
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653) was an Italian Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid-seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar and became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV. In 1625 Pope Urban VIII made him the Archbishop of Ferm ...
, sent as
nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...
to Ireland by
Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in Janua ...
, at Macroom Castle. His father opposed Rinuccini's dealings in Irish politics and when the nuncio seized power in a coup d'état in 1646, Justin's father was detained at
Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: �kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of ...
and stripped of the command of the Munster Army.


Exile

In April 1650 his family lost Macroom Castle, where Justin had spent his childhood, in the context of the Battle of Macroom. Around that time, anticipating the loss of Macroom or because of it, his father sent Justin, his mother, and sisters to security in France. His mother then lived in Paris, in the convent of the Feuillantines. After Rinuccini's departure, his father fought the Parliamentarians in the
Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland w ...
. Muskerry 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 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 ...
in June 1652. In 1658 his father was created Earl of Clancarty by Charles II in Brussels, where he was then in exile.215, line 2
/> By this advancement the title of the viscount of Muskerry became a subsidiary title of the family, which was given as
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...
to the Earl's heir apparent, at that time his eldest brother
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, who was therefore styled Viscount Muskerry thereafter.


Restoration

The family had their property confiscated under the Cromwellian regime, but it was restored to them at the Restoration of Charles II. Justin seems to have grown up mainly in France. He became a professional soldier and showed great skill in his profession, but poor eyesight hampered his career. He entered the
French army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
in 1671, and then transferred to the Duke of Monmouth's regiment, then in French pay, and served against the Dutch. On 4 March 1665, 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 ...
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 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 ...
, the first major naval engagement of the war and an English victory.215, line 13
/> His brother had an infant son, also named Charles, who succeeded him as heir apparent and was, therefore, styled Viscount of Muskerry. However, their father, the 1st Earl, died two months later, on 4 August 1665, 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. Thereupon Callaghan, the infant's uncle, succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Clancarty. Justin McCarthy came to England in 1678 and was befriended by the future James II, who generally chose soldiers, especially Irish soldiers, as his boon companions. Charles II decided to use his services in Ireland, and made him a colonel in Sir
Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan") 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and Governor of the Province of New York. He is noted for ...
's regiment. On the outbreak of the
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate ...
, however, the discovery of Colonel McCarthy's presence at
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
caused uproar: he fled the country, and the Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson, who had issued his commission, was sent to 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 sep ...
.


Meddling in nephew's marriage

By 1683 Colonel MacCarthy was at Court again, where his growing influence was shown by the marriage he arranged for his immensely wealthy nephew Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty. Callaghan, the 3rd Earl, had died in 1676, leaving his young son in the care of his widow, Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, daughter of
George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (23 January 1612 – 29 May 1660) was known as the "Fairy Earl", apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, which is extant, was painted on a small scale." Biography FitzGerald was the son of T ...
: she has been described as "a fierce Protestant isolated in a Catholic family". She placed her son in the care of John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, for a Protestant education. Colonel MacCarthy was determined to have the final word on the young earl's marriage and religion, and persuaded the King to invite the young earl to Court for
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. He brought that letter in person to the bishop. Here Donough MacCarthy, at sixteen, was married to Elizabeth Spencer who was two years younger. The marriage would not be consummated for many years. The bride was a daughter of
Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, (5 September 164128 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him nu ...
. The Earl of Sunderland was a Protestant at that time but had Catholic leanings and would turn a Catholic in 1687. The marriage was a failure, and Kenyon, Sunderland's biographer, remarked that it left a stain on the reputation of all those who ruined the lives of these two young people, without gaining anything in return.
Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academi ...
wrote that in anything that did not directly concern his religion, MacCarthy was an honourable man.


Under James II

Under the Catholic King James II, McCarthy was in 1686 promoted to
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
and became a member of the
Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execu ...
. He quarrelled with the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...
, the 2nd Earl of Clarendon, and probably intrigued to secure Clarendon's recall. In 1688 or early in 1689, Tyrconnell appointed him Muster-Master General in the Irish Army and Lord Lieutenant of County Cork. On 23 May 1689, James II elevated Justin McCarthy to being Viscount Mountcashel, with the subsidiary title of Baron Castleinch. These titles were in what later became known as the Jacobite peerage. Later in 1689, Lord Mountcashel, as he was now, took
Castlemartyr Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6&n ...
and Bandon for James; at Bandon there was a massacre called "Bloody Monday", but Mountcashel persuaded the King to issue a general
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
to his defeated opponents. He met James II at his landing at
Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 ( ...
, and was commanded to raise seven regiments. He sat in the
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...
in the Parliament of 1689. With 3,000 men he advanced from Dublin towards
Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...
, which with Derry was one of the two places still resisting James II. He was met by 2,000 Protestant 'Inniskilleners' at the Battle of Newtownbutler on 31 July 1689. Mountcashel's forces were routed; he was wounded, then captured. Allowed out on
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
he broke parole and escaped to Dublin; Schomberg remarked that he had thought McCarthy was a man of honour, but on the other hand he expected no better from an Irishman. He went into exile in France and commanded the first Irish Brigade of
Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
.


Marriage

He married Lady Arabella Wentworth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford and his second wife Lady Arabella Holles, who was many years older than himself; they had no documented or legally recognized children; however, it is believed his lineage continued.


Death and timeline

His later career was hampered by his near-blindness. He died on 1 July 1694 N.S. at Barèges where he had gone to take the waters for his health and was buried there. At his death he tried to leave his property to a cousin, but it passed to his niece Catherine, sister of the 4th Earl of Clancarty. Her husband, Paul Davys, had the title Viscount Mount Cashell revived in his own favour.


Notes, citations, and sources


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * – 1642 to 1660 * (for MacCarty) * – (for Ormond) * – 1673 to 1685 * * – 1643 to 1660 * * * – L to M * – N to R (for Ormond) * – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty) * – Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat (for Fingall) * – Scotland and Ireland * – 1625 to 1655 * (for timeline) * * * * * – Viscounts (for Butler, Viscount Mountgarrett) * * – Snippet view * (for its frontispiece) * – Irish stem * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountcashel, Justin McCarthy, Viscount 1640s births 1694 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from County Cork French military personnel of the Nine Years' War Irish Jacobites Irish MPs 1689
MacCarthy 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 Musk ...
MacCarthy dynasty Viscounts in the Jacobite peerage Younger sons of earls