Cornelius Curtain (

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigeno ...

: Conchobhar Mac Curtain) (1660–1724) was a Captain of Infantrymen in the Royal Irish Army of

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

. English records do list him on two occasions as a "gentleman", meaning a landowner. He is listed as being present at the siege of Limerick, the

Raid on Newry The raid on Newry took place in November 1689 during the Williamite War in Ireland when a Franco-Irish force loyal to James II attacked the Williamite garrison of Newry in County Down. The raid was carried out by the French Major General Al ...

in County Down, as well as the king’s defeat at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. Mac Curtain's rank is listed as "Captain", in the service of Major General

Alexandre de Rainier de Droue, Marquis de Boisseleau Alexandre de Rainier de Droué, Marquis de Boisseleau (1650 – 8 October 1698) was a French aristocrat and soldier. He is known for his service on the Jacobite side during the Williamite War in Ireland. Biography Boisseleau received a commission ...

’s Infantry division in 1690. His home township is listed twice, once as "Mellyforttown", and later as "Mallyfanstowne", both times this township is said to be in northern County Cork. The former rendering of the name appears to be an archaic phrasing of the township now known as Mallow. No historic record notes this township, so it is unclear. In a French record of his great-grandson, he is called Cornelius Curtain of Muckrooa, County Cork. However, this locale is not identifiable at all. Mac Curtain is listed as among those pardoned by

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Sh ...

in 1690, and appeared to temporarily hold onto his landholdings. The English record does not specify if this pardon was requested, or just granted to the natives as means of reconciliation following the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

. Whatever the case may be, the peace is short lived, as Mac Curtain had left Ireland with the Jacobite Army of 19,000 Irishmen under the Earl of Lucan in 1691. He appears to have returned in Ireland in 1696 during the Jacobite attempt to depose the Williamite government. For this, Mac Curtain was placed under royal attaint in 1696D'Alton, John. (1861) Illustrations, Historical and Genealogical, of King James's Irish Army, Volume 2. JR Smith Publisher, London, UK, p. 495 (the state confiscation of his property and civil liberties). He was the son of Phellim Curtain, an ensign in the army of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, and brother to

William Curtain William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

and nephew to

Fr. Cornelius Curtain Cornelius Mac Curtain (; 1658–1737) was a Catholic priest and Irish poet, who composed several works in Latin, Irish, and English during the late 17th and early 18th century. Life Mac 's place of his birth is unknown. He was ordained in Cork i ...

, both Gaelic poets. He was also great-great grandson of Eachmilidh Macartan.{{fact, date=August 2021

Descendants

''1st Marriage: ''- Catherine O’Donovan, daughter of

Donal IV O'Donovan Donal IV O'Donovan, (or Anglicized as Daniel O'Donovan) (), The O'Donovan, of Clancahill (died 1705), was the son of Donal III O'Donovan, The O'Donovan of Clancahill, and Gyles (Sheela) O'Shaughnessy, daughter of Elis Lynch and Sir Roger Gilla Dub ...

and Elizabeth Tonson, # Cornelius Curtain, who married Joanna Coppinger of Cork City in 1722, and was the ancestor of French MacCurtains, Including Cornelius MacCurtain, Sieur de Kainlis, Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy, as well as

Florimond-Benjamin MacCurtain Florimond-Benjamin MacCurtain was a French Politician and Soldier who gained notoriety during the late 18th and early 19th century. He entered military services in the French Royal Army in 1781 at seventeen years of age. He was quickly granted the ...

, Baron de Kainlis. # Mary Curtain # Gabriel Curtain, ''2nd Marriage: ''- Joanne Quinn, daughter of Donough Quinn and Judith O'Riordan # John, had issue. # Simon Curtain, married Catherine Mansfield in 1718, had issue. # Hanora Curtain, married James MacMahon, had issue. # Anne Curtain, # Bartholomew Curtain, had issue. # Catherine Curtain, # William Curtain

Notes

1660 births 1724 deaths Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish Jacobites Military personnel from County Cork McCurtain family