Carroll;
Variant Spellings; O’Carroll, MacCarroll, Cardwell, Caroll, Carrolly, MacCarvill.
Before the Norman invasion there were six separate septs of O’Carroll, the O'Carroll of Ely and O’Carroll of Oriel being the main ones. The Ely O’Carrolls were the sept that survived the Normans; they are descended from Cearbhal, lord of Ely, who was one of leaders of Brian Boru’s army at the battle of Clontarf. After the coming of the Normans the territory of the Ely O’Carrolls was confined to the area around Birr, County Offaly.
In Irish the name means 'Descended from Cearbhall' and is derived from the word cearbh which has come to mean 'fierce warrior'.
Many famous people have borne the O’Carroll name. We begin with Maolsuthain O’Carroll (d.1031) who was confessor to Brian Boru and contributor to "The Book of Armagh". Members of the sept fled to France with James II after his defeat at the battle of the Boyne; the most distinguished of these was Brigadier Daniel O’Carroll (d. 1712).
Charles Carroll (1737-1832) was a signatory of the American Declaration of Independence. Most Rev. John Carroll, of Carrollton Maryland, was the first Catholic bishop in the U.S.A. and the first Archbishop of Baltimore.
Coat of Arms
(O)Carroll (Ely)
Where the Family Lived (Blue Area)
Addresses for More Information
Ireland
Centre for Irish Genealogical and Local Studies, Carraig, Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. (Sean Murphy, MA, Director)
General Register Office, 8-11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 671 1000
Website http://www.doh.ie/manual/chap4/gere.htm
National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 478 3711
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 603 0200
Website www.heanet.ie/natlib
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Street, Belfast BT9 6NYY, Northern Ireland
Telephone (01232) 251319.
Website http://proni.nics.gov.uk/index.htm
University College Dublin, Adult Education Office, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Website http://www.ucd.ie/delltti
Britain
Family Records Centre, London, England.
Website http://pro.gov.uk/about/frc/default.htm
Public Records Office, Kew, Surrey, England.
Website http://www.pro.gov.uk
General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Website http://www.open.gov.uk/index.html
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales.
Website http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.htm
North America
Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, Family History Information, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Website http://lds.org/en/ 2 how do I begin/0- how do I begin.html
Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site
Website http://www.familytreemaker.com/index.html
The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), P.O. Box 619 Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.
Website http://tiari.ie
Irish Genealogical Society International, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Website http://www.rootsweb.com irish/index.html
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston Massachusetts, USA.
Website http://nehgs.org/main-01.htm
Australasia
Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Website http://www.alphalink.com/au/esv
National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Website http://www.aa.gov.au/AA_WWW/AA_Home_Page.html
National Archives of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
Website http://www.archives.dia.gov.nz
List of Links
Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet: Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Website http://www.cyndilist.com/ireland.htm
UK and Ireland Genealogical Information Service.
Website http://www.genuki.org.uk
Copyright © 1998 by A. MacDarragh Burke, MD
All Rights Reserved.