Callaghan MacCarty, 3rd Earl of Clancarty.

About Callaghan MacCarty, 3rd Earl of Clancarty

Callaghan MacCarty, 3rd Earl of Clancarty was the second son of Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty. Callaghan was destined for a Catholic religious career and entered a seminary in France where his family was in exile during Cromwell's rule. When his elder brother died in the Battle of Lowestoft, and the 2nd Earl, his nephew, died in infancy, he unexpectedly left his religious institution, returned to Ireland, and assumed the title. He became a Protestant and married a Protestant wife. Late in life he converted back to Catholicism.