The Kingdom of Desmond () was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond (, "North Munster"). It comprised all of what is now County Cork and most of County Kerry. Desmond was ruled by the Mac Cárthaigh (MacCarthy) dynasty. Other clans within the kingdom included the O'Sullivans and O'Donovans. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century, the eastern half of Desmond was conquered by the Anglo-Normans and became the Earldom of Desmond, ruled by the Fitzmaurices and FitzGeralds—the famous Irish family known as the Geraldines. The king of Desmond, Diarmaid Mac Cárthaigh submitted to Henry II of England, but the western half of Desmond lived on as a semi-independent Gaelic kingdom. It was often at war with the Anglo-Normans. Fínghin Mac Carthaigh's victory over the Anglo-Normans at the Battle of Callann (1261) helped preserve Desmond's independence. The kings of Desmond founded sites such as Blarney Castle, Ballycarbery Castle, Muckross Abbey and Kilcrea Friary. Following the Nine Years' War of the 1590s, Desmond became part of the Kingdom of Ireland. MacCarthy Mórs: Kings of Desmond From its inception in 1118 through 1596, the Kingdom of Desmond was ruled by the family of the MacCarthy Mór (i.e., the "Great MacCarthy"). For centuries the MacCarthy Mórs reigned as Kings of Desmond, and maintained significant demesne lands (manors) throughout the kingdom. Principal seats were at Pallis Castle (near present-day Killarney), Castle Lough (on Killarney's Lough Leane), and Ballycarbery Castle (near Cahersiveen on the Ring of Kerry). After the death of King Donal IX MacCarthy Mór in 1596, and following the effective end of the Gaelic Order after the Battle of Kinsale (1602), the former Kingdom of Desmond was partitioned between County Cork and County Kerry (in 1606). Subsequent to the end of the MacCarthy Mór sovereignty in Desmond, descendants entitled to the highest Gaelic designation of "Chief of the Name" of the MacCarthy Mór family, are also properly styled as Princes of Desmond. A secondary title of the MacCarthy Mór would derive from the lordship designation of his sept. Principalities and other septs Generational offshoots (cadet family lines) of the Royal House of Desmond received their own territories and titles – known as appanages of the royal house. Those MacCarthy Mór cadet branches which