Honours and Appointments
Honours of the Chiefly House
The Order of Saint Fachtna
The Order of Saint Fachtna is a modern private dynastic and clan order of merit of the House of MacCarthy Reagh. It is not a revival or continuation of a medieval Gaelic order and makes no claim to state recognition or historical continuity with an established order of chivalry. Medieval Gaelic honour was expressed through other institutions - office, fosterage, hospitality, poetic praise, military loyalty, noble status, and honour price - and the Order instead provides a modern means of recognizing exceptional service.
Dedicated to Saint Fachtna of Rosscarbery, the Order connects its purpose with learning, holiness, pastoral care, mercy, and the Christian identity of Carbery. Its aim is to acknowledge those whose work materially advances the restoration, preservation, and cultural patrimony of Carbery and the Chiefly House.
Grades
Cross of Saint Fachtna (CStF)
for meritorious service to the House, Clan, Carbery, Irish heritage, Catholic or charitable work, genealogy, heraldry, cultural preservation, or the purposes of the Order.
Grand Cordon of Saint Fachtna (GCStF)
for distinguished and consequential service of notable importance to the Chiefly House, restoration of the chiefship, preservation of Carbery, or the Order's charitable, cultural, religious, or diplomatic purposes.
Collar of Saint Fachtna (ColStF)
the highest grade, reserved for members of noble, royal, or chiefly families who have rendered exceptional and eminent service.
August 17, 2025
Elizabeth Clare McCarthy, Princess of Carbery, GCStF
January 8, 2026
Teague Daniel Patrick McCarthy, CStF
July 16, 2026
Prince Georg-Victor Karl Josias of Bentheim and Steinfurt, ColStF
July 16, 2026
Princess Madeleine of Bentheim and Steinfurt, ColStF
July 16, 2026
Prince Maximilian of Bentheim and Steinfurt, ColStF
July 16, 2026
Dr. John Anupam Das, ColStF
July 16, 2026
Kyle Shaun Bunker, ColStF
July 17, 2026
Michael Fitzpatrick, GCStF
The Royal Companionate of Carbery
The Royal Companionate of Carbery is a private dynastic honour conferred by the Prince of Carbery for exceptional service to the heritage of the historic Principality. It recognises contributions to cultural preservation, scholarship, philanthropy, and other work supporting Carbery and its diaspora. Its motto is Deum timete: regem honorificate - "Fear God; honour the king" - from 1 Peter 2:17. Admission is a personal gift of the Prince and is not purchased.
August 17, 2025
Elizabeth Clare McCarthy, Princess of Carbery
August 17, 2025
Joseph MacNeal Crews
August 17, 2025
GarraíEoin Brian, The O’Sullivan Mór
August 17, 2025
Simon Keegan, The MacKeegan of Tethbae
August 17, 2025
Brian Patrick Pryor
March 17, 2026
Michael Joseph Quigley
June 17, 2026
Thomas Falk
June 17, 2026
Sir Dennis Christopher McGoff
July 11, 2026
Rudolph Andries Ulrich Juchter van Bergen Quast, Baron Home of Berwick
Heraldry, Symbols, and Identity
The Clan's heraldry and ceremonial symbols express the identity of the Chiefly House and the wider community. The arms of the Chiefly House are not a generic surname logo: as with heraldry generally, an individual coat of arms belongs to the armiger and those entitled to inherit or use it according to the relevant heraldic tradition. Clan members may instead use approved badges, tartan, or other communal symbols designated by the Chiefly House for broader use.
The House uses the motto Fortis, Ferox et Celer - "Strong, Fierce and Swift" - and the traditional war cry Lámh Láidir Abú. The Róisín Dubh, the black rose, also appears in modern insignia. The honorary tartan adopted in 2025 combines green, red, blue, white, black, and gold and is intended as a modern unifying emblem for the global diaspora rather than a claim of historic Irish tartan usage.
Projects
Registrum Familiarum Carberiæ
The proposed Registrum Familiarum Carberiæ - A Compendium of the Families of Carbery - is envisioned as a living record of pedigrees, oral family histories, migration stories, photographs, documents, and notable achievements. Its purpose is not simply to catalogue the MacCarthy Reagh, but to help reconnect the many families historically rooted in Carbery and their descendants abroad.
Charitable Service
The Chief's vision includes charitable work inspired by the Brehon-law emphasis on responsibility toward the vulnerable, including the concept of a Carbery Cares initiative focused on homelessness and support for organisations already serving those in need. The Gallowglass provides the principal organisational vehicle for translating that ideal into community work.
Mapping and Digital Archive
The Carbery Mapping Project and the long-term goal of a freely accessible digital archive are complementary: one connects people and sources to place; the other consolidates manuscripts, pedigrees, records, and research so that future scholars and family historians do not have to rediscover the same evidence repeatedly.