Charles MacCarty, Viscount Muskerry (1633 or 1634 – 1665), called Cormac in Irish, commanded a royalist battalion at the Battle of the Dunes during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

. He was heir apparent to

Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

but was killed at the age of 31 at 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 sea-fight against the Dutch, 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 ...

, and thus never succeeded to the earldom. He was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Birth and origins

Charles (i.e. Cormac) was born in 1633 or 1634, probably at Macroom Castle, County Cork, Ireland, his parents' habitual residence. He was the eldest son of Donough MacCarty and his wife Eleanor (or Ellen) Butler. He is also known as Cormac and this seems to have been his original name, whereas Charles seems to be a later English or French adaptation. At the time of his birth, Charles's 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 e ...

in 1658. His 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 ...

. Charles's mother (1612–1682) was the eldest sister of James Butler, the future Duke of Ormond. Her 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 Ormon ...

, was Old English and descended from

Theobald Walter Theobald Walter (sometimes Theobald FitzWalter, Theobald Butler, or Theobald Walter le Boteler) was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. He also held the office of Chief Butler of England and was the High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1194. Theobald ...

, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. Charles's parents were both Catholic. He had two brothers and two sisters, who are listed in his father's article.

Irish wars

At the time of his birth, Ireland enjoyed a period of peace between the end of Tyrone's Rebellion (1593–1603) and 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 plantat ...

. His father, after some hesitation, joined the Confederates in March 1642 and fought in that year at the Siege of Limerick and the Battle of Liscarroll. In 1645 Pope Innocent X sent Giovanni Battista Rinuccini as nuncio to Ireland. Rinuccini landed at

Kenmare Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the Anglicisation, anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. Location Kenmare is located at the hea ...

, County Kerry. and passed by Macroom Castle on his way to Kilkenny. Cormac, about 11 years old, met Rinuccini, who was welcomed by his mother at the castle. His father opposed Rinuccini and was detained when Rinuccini overturned the Confederate government in a coup d'état. in May 1647, when Charles was but 13 years old, his father sent him to France with a regiment to take service in Louis XIV's army. Charles sailed from Waterford on 15 May 1647. He was accompanied by

John Callaghan John Callaghan may refer to: *John Callaghan (physician) (1923–2004), Canadian cardiac surgeon * John Callaghan (Galway), Irish murder victim * John Callaghan (musician) (born 1969), British musician *John Callaghan (screenwriter), see List of Re ...

, a Catholic priest and

Jansenist 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 t ...

, who was his tutor. In April 1650 his family lost Macroom Castle, where Charles had spent his childhood, in the context of the

Battle of Macroom The Battle of Macroom was a skirmish fought on 10 May 1650, near Macroom, County Cork, in southern Ireland, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. An English Parliamentarian force under Roger Boyle, (Lord Broghill), defeated an Iris ...

. Around that time, anticipating the loss of Macroom or because of it, his father sent Cormac's mother, sisters and youngest brother to security in France. His mother then lived in Paris, where she rented an apartment in the convent of the Feuillantines. After Rinuccini's departure, his father took up arms again to fight the Cromwellians but was defeated in 1651 by Broghill at Knocknaclashy and surrendered his last stronghold,

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 w ...

, 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 1652.

On the continent

In France, MacCarty (Charles or Cormac) and his Irish regiment were employed to fight the Spanish in the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) on the border between France and the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

Condé-sur-l'Escaut

MacCarty's regiment was part of the garrison of

Condé-sur-l'Escaut Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; pcd, Condé-su-l'Escaut) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the border with Belgium. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are kn ...

when the town was taken by the Spanish shortly after their victory over the French at the Battle of Valenciennes on 16 July 1656.654
/> King Charles II, in exile in the Spanish Netherlands since March 1656, sent the Marquess of Ormond, MacCarty's uncle, to ask him to join him with his regiment. He refused to change sides without having laid down his commission in proper form. Having done this, however, he obeyed his king and changed sides together with his regiment, thereafter serving Charles II in Spanish pay. This regiment was then called the Duke of York's regiment after Charles II's brother the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...

and future James II.

Battle of the Dunes

MacCarty fought with his regiment at the Battle of the Dunes on 14 June 1658 where it formed part of the English royalist army under the

that fought together with the Spanish on the losing side against the victorious French and Protectorate English. On 27 November 1658 his father was created Earl of Clancarty by Charles II in Brussels. By this advancement, the title of Viscount of Muskerry became the highest subsidiary title of the family, which was then 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 c ...

to the Earl's heir apparent. In consequence, MacCarty was styled Viscount Muskerry thereafter.

Restoration

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 ...

Muskerry, as he now was, did not accompany the king to Dover in May 1660 but stayed with his regiment at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Sale of Dunkirk in November 1662. His father, the 1st Earl of Clancarty, had meanwhile returned to Ireland and recovered his estates by virtue of Charles II "Gracious Declaration" of the 30 November 1660. His father sat as Lord Clancarty in the Irish Parliament of 1661–1666 and was part oif a committee that organised a gift of £30,000 for the Duke of Ormond. On 19 August 1662, Muskerry was called to the parliament to replace his father on that committee.

Marriage and children

In 1660 or 1661 Muskerry married Margaret Bourke, a rich heiress, the only child of

Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde Ulick MacRichard Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde, 5th Earl of Clanricarde, 2nd Earl of St Albans (; ; ; ; 1604, in London – July 1657, in Kent), was an Anglo-Irish nobleman who was involved in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Catholic Ro ...

and Lady Anne Compton. Charles and Margaret had a girl and a boy: #Frances (1662–1675), died young #Charles (1663–1666), succeeded his grandfather as the 2nd Earl, but died as an infant

Life at the Restoration court

Lord and Lady Muskerry frequently attended the court at Whitehall. In July 1663 they went with the court to take the waters at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

during which visit the Muskerrys as well as Elizabeth Hamilton and Elizabeth Wetenhall stayed at nearby Somerhill House, which had been built by Lady Muskerry's grandfather, Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde and had been given back to her at the Restoration. This visit to Tunbridge is described by

Antoine Hamilton Antoine (or Anthony) Hamilton, comte ( – 1719) was a soldier and a writer of literature. As a Catholic of Irish and Scottish ancestry, he fled with his family to France during the Interregnum and later sided with James II against the Pr ...

in his semi-fictional ''Mémoires du comte de Gramont'' (written 1704–1710). The ''Mémoires du comte de Gramont'' (Chapter 7) tell how Elizabeth Hamilton made fun of Lady Muskerry by making her believe that the King had invited her to a masquerade and that she had to disguise herself as a Babylonian woman. She was however not invited to this masquerade, which took place in February 1665.

Death, succession, and timeline

The

broke out on 4 March 1665. Muskerry was killed on 3 June 1665 in the

, a naval engagement, on board of the flagship, the Royal Charles, by a cannonball, which also killed

Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth (11 January 1630 – 3 June 1665) was an English nobleman and naval officer who was the son of Charles Berkeley (1599–1668) and his wife Penelope née Godolphin (died 1669), of the Bruton branch of th ...

. He was 31 years old.76 line 1
/> Muskerry was buried on 19 June with great pomp at

. Muskerry had an infant son, Charles James, who succeeded him as heir apparent and Viscount of Muskerry. However, the 1st Earl, his father, died on 4 August 1665 surviving him by only two months, and the little Charles James, therefore, succeeded as the 2nd Earl but died about a year later, on 22 September 1666, still an infant. Thereupon Callaghan, his uncle, succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Clancarty. His widow made two further marriages: to Robert Villiers, and to Robert Fielding. She died in 1698 at Somerhill House. Her widower made a scandalous and bigamous marriage to

Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Castlemaine (née Barbara Villiers, – 9 October 1709), was an English royal mistress of the Villiers family and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of ...

, former

royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the Extramarital sex, extramarital Mistress (lover), lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic in ...

of Charles II.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

Subject matter monographs: * Click here. Webb 1878 in ''Compendium of Irish Biography'' — * * * – 1642 to 1660 * * – (for MacCarty) * – (for Ormond) * – 1643 to 1660 * – Marriages, baptisms and burials from about 1660 to 1875 * * * * – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty) * * – Scotland and Ireland * – 1665 to 1706 * * – 1625 to 1655 * * * – (for timeline) * * – 1634 to 1699 * – 1661 to 1665 * * – Blood royal, dukes, earls (for Clanricarde) * – Viscounts (for Thurles) * * * * * – Irish stem * * – (Preview) * – 1 January 1664 to 29/30 June 1665 * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muskerry, Charles MacCarty, Viscount 1665 deaths British courtesy viscounts Burials at Westminster Abbey English military personnel killed in action French Army officers Heirs apparent who never acceded Irish soldiers in the French Army MacCarthy dynasty Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars Year of birth uncertain