Donough [Donagh] MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty (1668, Blarney

Blarney

Blarney is a town and townland in County Cork, Ireland. It lies north-west of Cork and is famed as the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone.-Tourism:Blarney town is a major tourist attraction in County Cork...

 – 1 October 1734, Praalshof near Altona, Germany) was an Irish supporter of James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

, banished after the victory of William of Orange

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

; His peerage was attained in 1691. MacCarthy lived out his life in exile in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and on the Elmersmastede in Hoogkerk

Hoogkerk

Hoogkerk is a town in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Groningen, about 4 km west of the city.Hoogkerk was a separate municipality until 1969, when it was merged with the city of Groningen....

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. He was part of the MacCarthy of Muskerry

MacCarthy of Muskerry

The MacCarthy dynasty of Muskerry is a branch of the great MacCarthy Mor dynasty, the Kings of Desmond. Their branch descends from Dermod Mor MacCarthy, 1st Lord of Muscry , second son of Cormac MacCarthy Mor , King of Desmond....

 dynasty.

As the heir of his father's massive Irish estates at Cork and Kerry (inherited 1676, age 8) MacCarthy's upbringing was a matter of high policy. He married Elizabeth Spencer, daughter of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland KG, PC was an English statesman and nobleman.-Life:Born in Paris, son of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, Spencer inherited his father's peerage dignities at the age of three, becoming Baron Spencer of Wormleighton and Earl of Sunderland...

, in 1684, then principal secretary of state in England . The marriage was a legal construct, and went unconsummated for years.

Imprisoned in the Tower for his part in the Jacobite resistance in Ireland, MacCarthy escaped in 1694 to James II's court on the continent. He returned to England in the new year 1698, to finally begin his married life, only to be turned in by his brother in law, Lord Spencer

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Sir Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland KG PC , known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman...

. Months later, MacCarthy was permitted to flee to exile in Altona, near Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, with his wife .

Secondary sources

• Kenyon, J.P. Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland 1641-1702 London: Longmans, Green and co. 1958.