Finghin MacCarthy Reagh (1440 - 1505)

Born 1440 in Cork, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1505 at about age 65 in Cork, Ireland

Finghin MacCarthy Reagh was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Note: The numbering system for hereditary titles in Ireland between 1300-1600 is often a source of confusion for researchers. For the Princes of Carbery, here we are using the numbering most commonly supported by modern historians.

Biography

Finghin MacCarthy Reagh, eldest son of Dermod, married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Fitzgerald (1426-1468), 7th Earl of Desmond, who was beheaded at Drogheda.

Sons of Finghin & Catherine:

1. Donal, 12th Prince of Carbery
2. Dermod
3. Donogh
4. Cormac
5. and one daughter Ilin (Ellen) who married James de Barry, Lord Ibane

The well-known Book of Lismore is said to have been compiled in Finghin's honour.

Finghin's next brother Dermod served very briefly as 11th Prince, but modern historians tend to consider Finghin's son Donal (12th Prince) as the successor.

From his father's profile in the Dictionary of Irish Biography:^[1]

• Dermod (8th Prince of Carbery) died in 1473, and was succeeded as lord of Cairbre by his nephew Cormac MacCarthy, who had the support of Gerald FitzGerald of Desmond.

• Cormac's succession was hotly disputed by Diarmaid's sons, who enlisted the aid of Cormac MacCarthy of Muskerry (d.1495). Together they captured and deposed Cormac in 1478, allowing Diarmaid's son Finghín MacCarthy (c.1440–1505) to establish himself gradually as lord of Cairbre, a process that took till 1484. Finghín's rule was cemented by his marriage to Katherine, daughter of Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond.

• During the crisis in 1487 provoked by the challenge of the supporters of Lambert Simnel to the rule of Henry VII, Finghín, after direct negotiations with the King, declared for Henry's cause. For his loyalty he was to be given recourse to English law and a grant of royal custom west of the Old Head of Kinsale.

• Besides his soldierly and political talents, Finghín also proved his worth as a patron of scholars, commissioning the monks of the Franciscan friary of Timoleague to compile the Book of Lismore about 1500.

• Fingin died in 1505, and was succeeded by his brother Diarmaid as lord of Cairbre.

Sources

• John O'Hart, Irish Pedigrees (1892), 5th Edition, Vol.1, "MacCarthy Reagh No.2", see Entry #118:
  • MacCarthy Reagh: Prince of Carbery

• Princes of Carbery: History and Chronological List
  • MacCarthy Reagh

• Wikipedia: Finghin MacCarthy Reagh

• Overview of the activities of the MacCarthy Reaghs, beginning with Finghin's father Dermod An Dunaidh, 8th Prince of Carbery:
  • “Clann Carthaigh (Continued).” Kerry Archaeological Magazine, vol. 1, no. 8, 1912, pp. 447–66
    • http://www.jstor.org/stable/30059797

1. ↑ https://www.dib.ie/biography/maccarthy-mac-carthaigh-diarmaid-duna-a5012