O'Carroll
also Carroll, Ó Cearbhaill
Ely O'Carroll — kings of north Tipperary into the Tudor age.
CoreHistoric reach
The seat of O'Carroll
Seat vacantChief
No chief yet. The seat awaits its first claimant — be the first to stake your name to O'Carroll.
Current mission
No mission proclaimed. The chief, once seated, sets the clan’s public focus — a campaign, a contest, a piece of restoration, a year of remembrance.
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Stake your name →Motto
In fide et in bello fortis
— Strong in faith and in war
What does the O'Carroll name mean?
From Ó Cearbhaill — descendant of Cearbhall ('hacking warrior'). Several distinct families took the surname independently in different parts of Ireland; the most powerful were the Ó Cearbhaill of Éile (Ely O'Carroll), the Munster sept who ruled a kingdom of north Tipperary and southern Offaly from the 8th century to the late 16th. Two further unrelated Carroll lines were the Ulster Ó Cearbhaill of Oriel (modern Louth and Monaghan) and a smaller Leinster line in Ossory.
The history of O'Carroll
Ely O'Carroll was one of the longest-surviving Gaelic kingdoms — a near-independent lordship straddling the modern Tipperary-Offaly border, with its principal stronghold at Birr and the broader territory anchored on the Slieve Bloom mountains. The Ó Cearbhaill held the kingdom under successive nominal Anglo-Norman overlords through the medieval period and were among the last Gaelic kindreds to submit by surrender-and-regrant under Henry VIII, Maolruanaidh O'Carroll formally surrendering Ely in 1552. The Cromwellian and Williamite confiscations broke the lordship in the 17th century but the surname remained densely planted across the original Ely territory.
Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832) — the only Catholic signer of the American Declaration of Independence, and the last surviving signer at his death — descended directly from the Ely O'Carroll line via his great-grandfather Charles Carroll 'the Settler', who emigrated to Maryland in 1688. His cousin Daniel Carroll (1730–1796) signed the United States Constitution; Daniel's brother John Carroll (1735–1815) was the first Roman Catholic bishop of the United States and the founder of Georgetown University. The Carrolls of Maryland are unique in American history as the only Catholic family to produce signers of both founding documents.
Notable bearers of the O'Carroll name
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832) — signer of the American Declaration of Independence
- Daniel Carroll (1730–1796) — signer of the US Constitution
- John Carroll (1735–1815) — first Roman Catholic bishop of the United States, founder of Georgetown
- Carroll O'Connor (1924–2001) — actor (All in the Family)