History of the Eóghanacht Kingdom of Munster

From the "Historical Essays on the Kingdom of Munster"

by The MacCarthy Mór, Prince of Desmond


Despite the antiquity of the Irish Royal Houses, which certainly rival the mythical genealogy of the Japanese Emperors, they are among the least well known dynasties in the world. Because of the tradition whereby the Chief of a Gaelic Royal House is normally styled only by his patronymic, the idea has developed that all Irish Chiefs and Chieftains, who follow the same custom, enjoy an equality of rank and nature. Nothing could be further from the truth, nor less agreeable to Irish history. The social structure of Gaelic Ireland was extremely complex, heirarchically oriented and aristocratic in concept. At the summit of society stood the king of a province, various styled in the law texts rí ruirech 'king of great kings,' ollam ríg 'chief of kings,' and rí bunaid cach cinn or 'the ultimate king of every individual.'[1] From his justice there was no appeal, nor did the Brehon Law acknowledge the existence of the high-kingship of Ireland.[2] The ri ruirech had no legal superior. In Munster this legal theory was explicitly adhered to by the annalists who styled the provincial kings as ard rí or 'high-king' thereby stressing his absolute sovereignty.[3] As the concept of the high-kingship of Ireland was developed from the ninth century onwards by the Uí Néill, the kings of Munster counterbalanced this unhistorical doctrine by stressing their alternate right to that office or, in lieu, the enjoyment of full sovereignty in Leth Mogha, that part of Ireland lying south of an imaginary line drawn from Dublin to Galway.[4]

The sovereignty of Munster was enjoyed by an extended dynasty known as the Eóghanachta in consequence of their supposed common descent from Eóghan Mór, a semi-mythical king, who died in the late second century of the Christian era. In fact this dynastic clan-name, for it was never in any sense a 'surname,' should more accurately be restricted to those branches of the royal house which descended from King Conall Corc, who established Cashel as his royal seat in the late fifth century.[5] The Eóghanachta were subdivided into seven great princely houses: the Eóghanacht Chaisil, Eóghanacht Áine, Eóghanacht Locha Léin, Eóghanacht Rathlind, Eóghanacht Glendamnach, Eóghanacht Arann, and Eóghanacht Ruis Argait.[6] In theory, they all possessed an equal right of provision to the vacant throne of Munster. In practice, the Eóghanacht Chaisil came to enjoy what was, at first, a "preferential right," but this developed into an absolute hereditary prerogative. Of the 50 kings of Munster who reigned from the accession of Conall Corc until the death in 963 of Donnchad II, which was followed by a Dál gCais usurpation of the monarchy, no fewer than 22 were members of the Eóghanacht Chaisil dynasty. If one narrows the period under scrutiny to the last one hundred years of absolute Eóghanacht supremacy in Munster, one finds that 11 of the 13 kings who ascended the throne came from the Eóghanacht Chaisil line.[7] This remarkable tendency towards the exclusion of the six other Eóghanacht dynasties from the royal succession developed into an absolute rule prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of Desmond (Des Mumhan = Southern Munster) in 1118. All twenty-five kings of Desmond who ruled between 1118 and the dissolution of the monarchy in 1596 were members of the royal house of MacCarthy Mór (Eóghanacht Chaisil). The descendants of the six excluded branches of the Eóghanacht dynasty were gradually absorbed into the ranks of the non-royal feudalized aristocracy.[8]

The kings of Munster embraced Christianity in the mid-fifth century. Prior to their conversion they had reigned as priest-kings consecrated to the service of their dynastic patron and god, Nuadu. Subsequently they continued to enjoy the same status of mixta persona in consequence of their solemn chrismation at their accessions.[9] Just as the Easter and Western Emperors, and the kings of France, were regarded as being imbued with sacerdotal prerogatives as the Lord's anointed, so too the Eóghanacht kings of Munster, who received "orders" and were "ordained," enjoyed an identical nature.[10] Although, in theory, the crown of Munster was elective, it was also governed by the hereditary principle that it could only devolve upon an Eóghanacht prince. This dynasty-centered form of succesion permitted the gradual evolution of the doctrine that the sovereign enjoyed his crown "by sentence of the blessing of God Almighty."[11] This incipient "Divine Rightest" view of kingship was given political expression by King Dermod I MacCarthy who adopted the formula "by favour of Divine Clemency, King of Munster."[12] Thus he ascribed the source of his sovereignty to the will of God and not to the unpredictable "will of the people." In this principle he asserted a belief shared by all his European contemporaries. His kingship was, in almost every respect, identical to theirs in nature and form.[13]

The advent, in 1169, of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland, followed by the foundation of English colonies disrupted, but did not destroy, the Gaelic kingdoms. Indeed, Henry II of England entered into treaty obligations with Rory O'Connor, High-King of Ireland and King of Connacht, guaranteeing him, and the other Irish kings, the same full enjoyment of all their prerogatives and sovereign powers as "before the lord king (Henry) entered Ireland."[14] Henry also entered "into a firm alliance" with King Dermod I MacCarthy of Desmond which, although the exact terms are unknown, guaranteed the integrity of that kingdom and its royal house. Certainly the arrival of the Anglo-Normans posed a real threat to the survivial of the Irish kingdoms; but survive they did, and for another four hundred years. The main political effect of the English colonization was the imposition of the authority of the English king in Ireland; but his writ hardly extended beyond the immediate territories dependent upon a few port-towns. Although throughout the next four hundred years the Irish kingdoms expanded and contracted in size, in direct response to the fortunes of those colonies, they never ceased to exist as real entities, nor did their rulers abandon the title of king. The Annals of Inisfallen, the principal chronicle of the kingdom of Desmond, continued to use the titles ard rí Muman, 'high-king of Munster,' and ard rí Dessmuman, 'high-king of Desmond,' in referring to the MacCarthy kings.[15] When, in the fifteenth century, the custom developed of styling the regnant king of Desmond simply as MacCarthy Mór, this did not imply an abandonment of the formal title. Indeed the patronymic became the principal royal title, just as Caesar had in Rome, Byzantium, Russia (Tsar) and the Holy Roman Empire (Kaiser). The very title MacCarthy Mór came to be interchangeable with that of 'king of Desmond.' Thus, for example, the Annals of Inisfallen in reporting the death of King Tadhg II Na Mainistreach MacCarthy Mór in 1428 style him by his surname only, but note that he "reigned for thirty-eight years."[16]

The kings of England made no attempt to suppress the Irish kingdoms, nor did they deny the existence of Irish kings, until Henry VIII adopted the title 'King of Ireland' in 1541, exactly 370 years after his predecessor, Henry II, had landed at Waterford. Throughout the intervening centuries, the English Crown had continually recognized the Gaelic kings and often addressed them by their full titles. The Treaty of Windsor of 1175, in which Henry II of England recognized Rory O'Connor as King of Connacht, is a classic example of such recognition. The supposed 'Norman conquest,' never being fully effected, forced the English kings to recognize the political reality that Irish kings existed. Thus, in 1217, Henry III of England recognized the existence of Dermod II of Desmond (1207-1229) in an order commanding Thomas de Bloet to pay a dowry for his sister, Petronilla, wife of "Dermod Magarthy, Rege de Corke."[17] It is true that there was no consistency in this policy and, on occasion, the kings of Desmond were styled as Dukes in letters from the English kings. In 1244, Henry III wrote to King Cormac IV of Desmond, styling him "Duci de Desemon" and summoning him to participate in the former's Scottish wars.[18] King Edward I, following this precedent, summoned King Donal III of Desmond (1262-1302), by the title "Duci de Desemond," to follow him on his Scottish campaign.[19] There is no evidence that either king acknowledged these summons or provided any aid to Henry III or Edward I of England. What is relevant however is that the English Crown addressed them as "Dukes" of Desmond during a period when that particular title was considered, in England, to be an exclusively royal style. It was not until 1337 that King Edward III of England created the first English duchy, that of Cornwall, which he granted to his son, Edward, the Black Prince.[20]

The last regnant king of Desmond and titular king of Munster, Donal IX MacCarthy Mór, died in 1596. Although he was constrained, in 1565, to accept an Earldom from Elizabeth Tudor, he made no abdication of his royal title, and as "King of Munster" sent ambassadors to King Philip II of Spain and the Pope seeking military assistance against the English.[21] It is often erroneously stated that Donal IX 'abdicated' the crown of Desmond and Munster at the time of his creation as Earl of Clancare, but there is not the slightest justification for this accusation. It is contradicted not merely by the fact that, some three years later, he was styling himself "King of Munster," but also because he was styled MacCarthy Mór in the very letters patent which created the Earldom. Since MacCarthy Mór was the supreme royal title of the kings of Desmond, it is clear that he had made no effective renunciation of the crown.

With the death of King Donal IX MacCarthy Mór, King of Desmond, the Eóghanacht Dynasty, which had reigned for 1,400 years, was deprived of territorial sovereignty. It did not, in consequence of that loss, cease to be royal. The several cadet lines of the dynasty continued to assert this status heraldically, by surmounting their arms with the royal crown of Desmond, and by continuing to use the royal title of MacCarthy Mór. Although deprived of the financial and military resources necessary to expel the English from Desmond, they continued to regard the reconquest of the kingdom as a primary objective. The English had the strength of a centralized government, and could call on far greater forces than the separate Irish Kingdoms, and rather than engage in hostilities which would have devastated their country, the leading MacCarthy Families settled in France where they continued to claim and exercise royal prerogatives, including the continuation of their dynastic order, The Niadh Nask as L'Ordre de la Chaine d'Or until 1905, when the French-based lines recognized, by Pacte de Famille, that the Chief of their Royal House and Hereditary Head of The Niadh Nask, was their kinsman Thomas Donal MacCarthy (Donal XIII), the present MacCarthy Mór's grandfather. Justin MacCarthy, Duke of Clancarthy, exiled to France in 1690, stipulated in his will of 1694 that his heirs were "to endeavour by all means to reconquer what the English have taken from our family."[22] Justin's kinsman and namesake, Comte Justin MacCarthy Reagh, also asserted the royal status of the deposed dynasty. In the early 1760s he commissioned Sir Isaac Heard, Norroy King of Arms, and Ralph Bigland, Clarenceux King of Arms, to>

Transfer interrupted!

d manuscript history of the Royal House of Munster which has survived to this day. It is known, from the opening sentence, as the Genealogie de la Royale et Serenissime Maison de MacCarthy (Genealogy of the Royal and Most Serene House of MacCarthy).

Does the Irish State recognize the House of MacCarthy Mór as royal? The logical answer must be that it does, insofar as its official department for regulating heraldry, and maintaining genealogical evidences of the right to enjoy Gaelic titles, recognizes the head of the dynasty by his formal title of MacCarthy Mór. The Republic cannot retrospectively alter the historical status of the royal house, nor imbue it with any new status that would involve the creation of a novel title thereby violating the Constitution. In recognizing the title of MacCarthy Mór, the State acknowledges in full, unaltered, the royal title used by both the regnant kings of Desmond and their non-regnant successors. Nor has the Chief Herald's Office attempted to pretend otherwise, for in the "Grey Manuscript" prepared in 1944 for the first Chief Herald of Ireland, it is asserted that: "The title of MacCarthy Mór, together with the titular kingdom of Desmond, is the right-by-courtesy of the representative of the elder line (of that dynasty)."[23] This is an explicit acknowledgment that whomsoever is MacCarthy Mór is titular, or de jure divino, king of Desmond.


NOTES
  1. Kelly, Fergus, A Guide to Early Irish Law, Dublin, 1988, pp. 17-18.
  2. Ibid.
  3. MacAirt, Sean, ed. Annals of Inisfallen, Dublin, 1951, p. 337.
  4. Dillon, Myles, ed. Lebor na Cert, Dublin, 1984, p. 19.
  5. Byrne, F.J., Irish Kings and High Kings, London, 1973, p. 177.
  6. Ibid., p. 178.
  7. Ibid., pp. 277-279.
  8. Jefferies, H.A., "Desmond before the Norman Invasion: A Political Study." Cork Archaeological and Historical Journal, Vol. LXXXIX, No. 248, 1984, p. 28.
  9. MacCarthy Mór, Historical Essays on the Kingdom of Munster, Kansas City, MO, 1994, "The Lord's Anointed."
  10. Byrne, p. 190.
  11. Dillon, p. 19.
  12. MacCarthy Mór, Samuel Trant, The MacCarthys of Munster, Dundalk, 1922, p. 358.
  13. Foster, R.F., The Oxford History of Ireland, Oxford, 1992, pp. 40-43.
  14. Flanagan, Marie Therese, Irish Society, Anglo-Norman Settlers, Angevin Kingship, Oxford, 1989, pp. 229-272.
  15. MacAirt, s.v. 1206, 1209, 1320, etc.
  16. Ibid., p. 437.
  17. MacCarthy Mór, S.T., pp. 35-36.
  18. Genealogie de la Royale et Serenissime Maison de MacCarthy, folio 45, citing Rymer Vol. 1, pp. 426-427, 28th of Henry VIII.
  19. Ibid., folio 46, citing Rymer, Vol. 2, pp. 897-898, 30th of Edward I.
  20. Lodge, Edward. The Peerage,Ý Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage of the British Empire, London, 1907, p. 35.
  21. Genealogie, folio 50.
  22. Murphy, John. Justin MacCarthy, Lord Mouncashel, Commander of the first Irish Brigade in France, Cork, 1958, p. 42.

    23. Grey MS., folio 36, Genealogical Office, Dublin.


THE ROCK OF CASHEL
 
 

The Rock of Cashel - see it!

COUNTY TIPPERARY

The Rock of Cashel is one of the most spectacular archeological sites in Ireland. It sits on the outskirts of Cashel on a large mound of limestone bristling with ancient fortifications. Mighty stone walls encircle a complete round tower, a roofless abbey, a 12th century Romanesque chapel, and numerous other buildings and high crosses. The Rock of Cashel is composed four structures which are the Hall of the Vicars Choral, the cathedral, the round tower, and Cormac's Chapel. Hore Abbey is about one kilometer north at the base of the rock.

The word Cashel is an anglicized version of the Irish word Caiseal. The translations means 'fortress' which is exactly what it was used for.

In the 4th century, the Rock of Cashel was chosen as a base of power by the Eoghanachta clan from Wales. They eventually conquered much of the Munster region and became kings of the region. The clan's links to the church started early; St. Patrick converted their leader in the 5th century in a ceremony in which the saint accidently stabbed the king in the foot with his crozier (a large walking staff). The king, thinking this was a painful initiation rite, bore the pain. Considering the actions taken by St. Patrick on other occasions against nonbelievers, possibly he was afraid to react.

The clan lost possession of the Rock in the 10th century to the O'Brien tribe under the leadership of Brian Boru. In the first year of the 12th century, King Muircheartach O'Brien gave the Rock to the church. This move prevented the Eoghanachta clan from retaking the Rock. So the the Eoghanachta clan, by now the McCarthys, moved to Cork. As a sign of goodwill, Cormac McCarthy built Cormac's Chapel in 1169 before leaving.

In 1647, the Rock fell to a Cromwellian army under Lord Inchiquin which sacked and burned its way to the top. Early in the 18th century the Protestant church took it for 20 years, and this was the last time the Rock was officially used as a place of worship.
 

The Cathedra         l
This 13th century Gothic structure overshadows the other ruins. Soaring above the center of the cathedral is a huge, square tower with a turret on one corner. Scattered throughout, are panels from the 16th century alter tombs and coats of arms from the Butlers. The cathedral is the large structure on the left side in the picture to the right. Cormac's Chapel is the small structure on the right side in the picture.

Hall of the Vicars Choral
The entrance to the Rock is through this 15th century house. The exhibits downstairs include some rare silverware and St. Patrick's Cross, a 12th century crutched cross with a crucifixion scene on one side and animals on the other. Tradition held that the kings of Cashel and Munster, including Brian Boru, were inaugurated at the base of the cross.

The Round Tower
Located at the corner of the cathedral.
A sandstone tower that is about 28 meters tall dating from the 11th or 12th century.round tower

                                         The Round Tower




Cormac's Chapel
Built in 1127, Cormac's Chapel is a small, solid, stone roofed chapel of cruciform shape. Inside the main door to the left is a stone sarcophagus, dating from 1125 - 1150, said to house the body of King Cormac. Snakes are carved in the stone in a figure "8" on its side to represent infinity or eternity. The interior is dark, but you will easily recognize the stone head carvings around the ceiling. The builders carved a likeness of their head and incorporated them into the building to signify their involvement in the building of the chapel. Restoration work is underway to remove the whitewash on the ceiling. Underneath the whitewash is beautiful and britely painted fresco.
 
 


The stone heads around the ceiling.







To see more Irish castles, visit Irish Castles on the Web

EOGHANACHT KINGS OF MUNSTER TO 963







In the following list, the various Eoghanacht septs are identified as follows:

The Eóghanachta claimed descent from Eóghan Mór, a semi-mythical King of Munster who reigned in the late second century of the Christian era. Whether or not he was a historical person, rather than a genealogical invention, cannot be determined. According to the synthetic histories of the Middle Irish schools, he was succeeded by the following kings: Ailill Ólomm, Cormac Cas, Fiachu Mullethan, Mogha Corb, Ailill Fland Mór, Ailill Fland Bec, and Echu. There is some evidence to suggest that several of these kings of Munster were real persons and not merely the figments of bardic imagination. However, the first generally accepted historical king of Munster was Conall Corc who established the Rock of Cashel as the seat of his dynasty.

Conall Corc (obit. 379)
Nad Froích mac Cuirc
Óengus mac Nad Froích (obit 490/92)
Daut Iarlaithe mac Maithni (ELL)
Eochaidh mac Óengusso
Feidlimid I mac Óengusso (EC)
Dub-Gilcach mac Óengusso
Crimthann Srem mac Echdach (EG)
Coirpre Cromm mac Crimthainn (obit. 579/80, EG)
Fergus Scandal mac Crimthainn Airthir Chliach (obit. 583, EAC)
Feidlimid II mac Coirpri (EG)
Feidlimid III mac Tigernaig (obit 590/93, ER)
Amalgaid mac Éndai (EA)
Gabrán mac Éndai (EA)
Fíngen I mac Áedo Duib (obit. 619, EC)
Áed Bennán mac Crimthainn (obit 619/21, EL)
Cathal I mac Áedo Flaind Chathrach (obit. 628, EG)
Faílbe Fland mac Áedo Duib (obit. 637/39, EC)
Cúán mac Amalgado (obit. 641, EA)
Máenach mac Fíngin (obit. 662, EC)
Cathal II Cú-cen-máthair mac Cathail (obit. 665/6, EG)
Colgú mac Faílbe Fland (obit. 678, EC)
Fíngen II mac Cathail Cú-cen-máthair (obit. 695/6, EG)
Ailill mac Cathail (obit, 698/701, EG)
Eterscél mac Máele Umai (obit. 721, EA)
Cormac I mac Ailello (obit. 731, EC)
Cathal III mac Finguine (obit. 742, EG)
Cathussach mac Eterscélai (EA)
Maél Dúin mac Áedo (obit. 786, ELL)
Ólchobar I mac Flainn (obit. 796/7, EG)
Ólchobar II mac Duib-Indrecht (obit. 805, EA)
Artrí mac Cathail (obit. 821, EG)
Tuathal mac Artroig (EG)
Tnúthgal mac Donngaile (EC)
Feidlimid IV mac Crimthainn (obit. 847, EC)
Ólchobar III mac Cináeda (obit. 851, ELL)
Áilgenán mac Donngaile (obit. 859, EC)
Cenn Fáelad hua Mugthigirn (obit. 872, EAC)
Donnchad I mac Duib-dá-Bairenn (obit. 888, EC)
Dub Lachtna mac Maéle Gualae (obit. 895, EC)
Finguine III Cen nGécán mac Lóegairi (obit. 902, EC)
Cormac II mac Cuilennáin (obit. 908, EC)
Flaithbertach mac Inmainen (obit. 944)
Lorcán mac Coinlígáin (EC)
Cellachán I Caisil mac Buadacháin (obit. 954, EC)
Máel Fathardaig mac Flainn (obit. 957, EC)
Dub-dá-Bairenn mac Domnaill (obit. 959, ER)
Fer Gráid mac Cléerig (obit. 961, EC)
Donnchad II mac Cellacháin Caisil (obit. 963, EC)

With the death of King Donnchad II mac Cellachain, the Dál gCais Mathgamain mac Cenneetig, King of Thomond, usurped the throne of Munster. He was murdered in 976 by Máelmuad mac Briain, King of Eóghanacht Rathlind, who assumed the title of King of Munster, but probably remained uncrowned at the time of his own death at the hands of Mathgamain's brother, Brian Boru, in 978. Thereafter the Dál gCais reigned supreme in Munster until 1118 when the kingdom of Desmond was founded as an Eóghanacht state.



 
 
 
 
 
 

THE KINGS OF DESMOND, 1118-1596

The Treaty of Glanmire in 1118 established Desmond, or South Munster, as a Eóghanacht state. Whereas in pre Dál gCais Munster the several Eóghanachta branches (Eóghanacht Áine, Eóghanacht Airthir Chilach, Eóghanacht Chaisil, Eóghanacht Glendamnach, Eóghanacht Locha Léin, and Eóghanacht Raithlind) had shared in the right of royal succession, this was not the case in restoration Desmond. The MacCarthys (Eóghanacht Chaisil) alone constituted the Royal House. Tadhg I MacCarthy (obit. 1124) was the great-great grandson of Donnchad II mac Ceallachain Caisil, the last legitimate sovereign of Eóghanacht Munster.

The following is a list, with regnal dates, of the Kings of Desmond from its foundation in 1118 to the death of its last regnant king, Donal IX MacCarthy Mór, in 1596.

Tadhg I, 1118-1123
Cormac III, 1123-1127, and 1127-1138
Donnchad III, 1127, and 1138-1143
Dermod I, 1144-1185
Donal I, 1185-1206
Fingen IV, 1206-1207
Dermod II, 1207-1229
Cormac IV, 1229-1247
Donal II, 1247-1252 (last direct royal ancestor of the Lords of Carbery)
Fingen V, 1252-1261
Cormac V, 1261-1262
Donal III, 1262-1302
Donal IV, 1302-1306
Donnchad IV, 1306-1310
Dermod III, 1310-1326
Cormac VI, 1325-1359 (1325-6 with opposition, last direct royal ancestor of the Lords of Muskerry)
Donal V, 1359-1390
Tadhg II, 1390-1428 (last direct royal ancestor of the Lords of Kerslawny*)
Donal VI, 1428-1469
Tadhg III, 1469-1503
Donal VII, 1503-1508
Tadhg IV, 1508-1514
Cormac VII, 1508-1516
Donal VIII, 1516-ante 1558
Donal IX, ante 1558-1596

With the death of King Donal IX MacCarthy Mór the kingdom of Desmond ceased to exist as an independent state.

*The title of MacCarthy Mór devolved upon the Lords of Kerslawny upon the death of King Donal IX, who had no surviving legitimate male issue. The other legitimate male lines of descent from King Donal VI had become extinct before that time. An illegitimate son, often known as "Donal the Base Son," did survive King Donal IX, but Donal IX's only legitimate son, Tadhg, Lord of Valentia and Tanaiste of Desmond, died under suspicious circumstances in 1588.
 
 

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