The Chiefship
The Chief of the Name MacCarthy Reagh
An Ceann Fine Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh - Prionsa Chairbre
Sir Evan Patrick McCarthy has served as Chief of the Name MacCarthy Reagh since his election by the Clan's Dearbhfhine in August 2025, which ended a 271-year interregnum. The office is one of stewardship rather than political sovereignty: a responsibility to preserve the history and dignity of the House, support the wider clan, maintain inherited cultural institutions, and encourage serious work on the genealogy and heritage of Carbery.
The Present Chief
Evan, The Chief of the Name MacCarthy Reagh, Prince of Carbery and of Ivahagh of Munster, Rígdomna of Desmond
Éimhín, An Ceann Fine Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh, Prionsa Chairbre agus Uí Eachach Mumhan agus Rígdomna Dheasmhumhan
Before the election, Sir Evan spent more than a decade researching MacCarthy Reagh social history and genealogy. His work included the recovery and certification of pedigrees connected with the medieval chiefly family, publication and compilation of historical material, development of a modern clan organisation, and initiation of the process that culminated in the first chiefship election in nearly three centuries.
His professional background includes military service, nonprofit leadership, academic work in physics and philosophy, and specialised study touching on genomic data science. His approach to the chiefship draws upon the Gaelic ideal of fír flaithemon - the truthful or just ruler - understood today as a call to responsible stewardship, cultural preservation, charitable service, and fidelity to inherited obligations rather than an assertion of governmental power.
The Chief's stated vision is renewal rooted in tradition. He has proposed or undertaken the restoration of household offices, the Gallowglass as a service and heritage fellowship, charitable initiatives for the vulnerable, and a Registrum Familiarum Carberiæ intended to preserve the pedigrees, oral histories, and family stories of Carbery's global diaspora.
What Is a Gaelic Chief?
In the Gaelic legal tradition, the head of a clan was selected from within a hereditary circle rather than inheriting automatically by strict primogeniture.
The eligible kin were traditionally organized through the dearbhfhine, a group centred on male descendants of a common great-grandfather. Tanistry sought to ensure that succession remained within the ruling bloodline while allowing the selection of an adult judged capable of exercising the office.
This was not democracy in the modern sense. The wider population did not vote, and the office was not open to any candidate. It was a dynastic mechanism combining hereditary eligibility with selection. In the modern setting, the chiefship carries no governmental or coercive authority in Ireland. Its significance is cultural, genealogical, ceremonial, and associational: it serves as a focal point for a historic family and the institutions that the family chooses to maintain.
Princes of Carbery and Chiefs of the Name
1232-1252
Domhnall Guid Chairbreach MacCárthaigh
1st Lord of Carbery; also King of Desmond, 1247-1252.
1252-1262
Diarmaid Donn
2nd Lord of Carbery; eldest son of Domhnall Guid; ancestor associated with Clan Dermod.
1262-1310
Domhnall Maol Chairbreach
3rd Lord of Carbery; from 1281 regarded by the Chiefly House as 1st Sovereign Prince of Carbery after the cession of Desmond south of the Lee.
1310-1320
Domhnall Caomh
2nd Prince of Carbery.
1320-1356
Domhnall Cairbreach
3rd Prince of Carbery.
1356-1366
Cormac Donn
4th Prince of Carbery.
1366-1414
Domhnall Riabhach
5th Prince of Carbery and 1st Chief of the Name MacCárthaigh Riabhach; the agnomen Reagh/Riabhach became attached to the line.
1414-1442
Domhnall Glas
6th Prince; 2nd Chief of the Name.
1442-1453
Donnchadh of Iniskean
7th Prince; 3rd Chief.
1453-1473
Diarmaid an Dunaidh
8th Prince; 4th Chief.
1473-1478
Cormac
9th Prince; 5th Chief; died 1503.
1478-1505
Finghin
10th Prince; 6th Chief.
1505-1506
Diarmaid
11th Prince; 7th Chief.
1506-1531
Domhnall MacFinghin
12th Prince; 8th Chief.
1531-?
Cormac na hAoine
13th Prince; 9th Chief.
?-1566
Finghin
14th Prince; 10th Chief.
1566-1576
Donnchadh
15th Prince; 11th Chief.
1576-1593
Eoghan "of the Parliament"
16th Prince; 12th Chief.
1593-1606
Domhnall na bPíopaí
17th Prince; 13th Chief; surrendered Carbery to the Crown in 1606 and died in 1612.
1612-1636
Domhnall of Kilbrittain
18th Prince; 14th Chief.
1636-1667
Cormac
19th Prince; 15th Chief; commander in the Munster conflicts of the 1640s.
1667-1676
Finghin of France
20th Prince; 16th Chief.
1676-?
Domhnall
21st Prince; 17th Chief.
?-1691
Alexander
22nd Prince; 18th Chief.
1691-1754
Finghin of Banduff
23rd Prince; 19th Chief.
1754-2025
Interregnum
No functioning succession to the chiefship.
2025-present
Evan
24th Prince of Carbery; 20th Chief of the Name, elected by the modern Dearbhfhine.
The Genealogical Problem
After 1754
The Chiefly House takes the position that the once-chiefly line descending from Cormac, Lord of Carbery, and Lady Eleanor MacCarthy of Muskerry became extinct in the male line, and that the documented male lines of Finghin of Banduff likewise became extinct. Historical records are nevertheless incomplete: additional MacCarthy Reagh descents may survive in families whose pedigrees have been lost, and some probable lines remain under investigation.
Modern reconstruction therefore relies on both documentary genealogy and Y-DNA. Research into the 1636 Inquisition post mortem of Domhnall MacCarthy Reagh corrected an important error in older published pedigrees concerning Finghin, born in 1625. The Inquisition records Cormac as a sixteen-year-old son and heir of Domhnall in 1636, demonstrating that Finghin could not have been Cormac's son as some later pedigrees had stated. The Chiefly House interprets the surviving evidence as placing Finghin among Domhnall's other sons and connects a modern Drinagh/Cashloura line
to him.
Chronology of the Restoration
The Chief's Vision
My vision for the MacCarthy Reagh clan is one of renewal rooted in tradition, to honour our past while forging a dignified path forward. Since time immemorial — through to the recent Dearbhfhine election that restored our chiefship — we have been bequeathed a storied legacy, crafted from our forebears’ bravery on the battlefield, stewardship of their homes and families, and the cultivation of arts and learning. It is my hope that we can continue that legacy.
Titles and Associations
It is not enough to rest upon the laurels of antiquity. We must remember that heritage is not a static monument but a living wellspring from which future generations draw strength, identity, and joy. By reviving the traditions of our forebears we reconnect with the values that once sustained a thriving and vibrant Gaelic polity. In this spirit, I plan to reinstitute the traditional organizations associated with Gaelic-Irish clans, and foster within them a renewed reverence for the Brehon laws in order to pay special care to authenticity.
One such initiative will be to establish a company of "Gallowglass" to recognize and honor those who have devoted themselves to preserving our traditional Gaelic-Irish customs. But this will not be a mere honorific as members will be charged to continue to fight for the preservation of Gaelic-Irish traditions.
In an age of increasing fragmentation, the key to a thriving community lies in the bonds we cultivate among ourselves, near and far, across Ireland and the wider global diaspora. To this end, I envision what may one day become a network of local Gallowglass "Commanderies," where clan members can gather, not only to celebrate our common ancestry, but also to support charity efforts.
Charity
It is not enough to rest upon the laurels of antiquity. We must remember that heritage is not a static monument but a living wellspring from which future generations draw strength, identity, and joy. By reviving the traditions of our forebears we reconnect with the values that once sustained a thriving and vibrant Gaelic polity. In this spirit, I plan to reinstitute the traditional organizations associated with Gaelic-Irish clans, and foster within them a renewed reverence for the Brehon laws in order to pay special care to authenticity.
One such initiative will be to establish a company of "Gallowglass" to recognize and honor those who have devoted themselves to preserving our traditional Gaelic-Irish customs. But this will not be a mere honorific as members will be charged to continue to fight for the preservation of Gaelic-Irish traditions.
In an age of increasing fragmentation, the key to a thriving community lies in the bonds we cultivate among ourselves, near and far, across Ireland and the wider global diaspora. To this end, I envision what may one day become a network of local Gallowglass "Commanderies," where clan members can gather, not only to celebrate our common ancestry, but also to support charity efforts.
Genealogy
Of course, genealogy is a monumental aspect of Irish Brehon law and the clan system. I invite each of you to participate in the creation of the “Registrum Familiarum Carberiæ - A Compendium of the Families of Carbery.” This living compendium will preserve our genealogies, record our oral family histories, and showcase the achievements Carbery's many kin across the globe. It will serve as an authoritative record of family genealogies, stories and histories, specifically designed to support and reconnect members of the diaspora who trace their origins back to the traditional territory of Carbery.
Join me
The MacCarthy Reagh Clan’s path forward lies in honoring the indelible legacy of our forebears while breathing new life into the institutions and values that once bound us as a thriving Gaelic community. By restoring authentic clan organizations we reinforce the bonds of kinship across Ireland and the diaspora while recognizing merit and achievement. Through “Carbery Cares” we can answer the ancient call of the Brehon laws to aid the vulnerable, ensuring that charity remains at the heart of our communal identity. By compiling the Registrum Familiarum Carberiæ, we safeguard our genealogies and family histories as a living testament to our shared heritage and the resolve of the Irish people. Together, these endeavors will not only preserve what has been entrusted to us, but also illuminate a dignified and purpose-driven future for every member of the MacCarthy Reagh Clan and, indeed, those clans whose home was in Carbery.
With the strength (fortis) to build upon the solid foundation of our ancestors’ stewardship of the clan, a fierce (ferox) determination to safeguard our heritage, and swift (celer) efforts to assist the needs of the vulnerable today, I believe our resolve can achieve truly amazing deeds for the world.
Fortis, ferox et celer!