County of Desmond

The Comté of Desmond is a historical County of Ireland. It was divided between the Comté of Cork and the Comté of Kerry in 1606.

The name of Desmond is resulting originally from the Irish Deas Mumhan which means Munster South and which was during Thomond ( Tuaidh Mumhan - Munster of north), Ormonde ( Oir Mumhan - Munster of the east) and Iarmond ( Iarmumhan - Munster of the west).

A first partition of Munster was carried out in 1118 by the laughed Ard Érenn Turlough O' Connor which allotted Desmond to Carthaigh and the Thomond with wire of Diarmait Ua Briain.

The final division of the kingdom of Munster intervened after the death of the king Domnall Mor mac Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain in 1194. At this point in time the southern part controlled by the family Mac Carthaigh constituted the kingdom of Desmond.

Domnall mac Domnall Mac Carthaigh Mor died in 1596 was the last king of Desmond. In 1565 it was allowed in the rows of the Anglo-Irish nobility under the title of count de Glencare; it did not have a legitimate male descendant. His/her Ellen daughter married Finian mac Donagh Mac Carthaigh (English Florence Mac Carthy) (1560 - 1640), the representative of the branch junior by Mac Carthaigh Reagh. This last finished its life in London starting from 1601 in semi captivity after having been private of its fields following its intrigues at the time of the revolt of Munster and the " War of nine ans" carried out by Hugh O' Neill and Hugh Roe O'Donnell.

Kings de Desmond did not reign any more since the beginning of XIVe century that on part of their old kingdom because after the Anglo-Norman invasion, the title and the grounds of count de Desmond were allotted to Maurice Fitzgerald in 1329. This family reigned on the county during more than two hundred and fifty years.

The family Fitzgerald became very popular on its new grounds. One even spoke about it like " having become Irish than Irish them-même". The county ended in 1584 with died of Gerald Fitzgerald 16th count de Desmond.

See also List of the counts de Desmond

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