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Margaret O'Carroll

Irish noble

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ6759780 ↗
Source-derived summary

Margaret O'Carroll (also known as: Máireg Bean Uí Chonchubhair Fáilghe, Mairgréag Ní Chearbhaill, Margaret O'Connor, or Failge) was a fifteenth-century Gaelic Irish noblewoman (d. 1451 in Ireland) who was mainly remembered for her hospitality and piety. She earned the nickname Mairgréag an Einigh ('Margaret of the Hospitality') after hosting two incredible feasts in the year 1433 and went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1445.

Life and family

Margaret O'Carroll was the daughter of Tadhg Ó Cearbhaill, chief of Ely (Éile), and Queen of the Kingdom of Uí Failghe (Offaly). Much about her early life is unknown, but it is possible that, as the child of the chief of Ely, she may have been fostered by a prominent Irish family in the area. In the early 15th century, she married Calbhach Ó Conchobhair Failghe (Calvach O'Connor Faly, d. 1458), chief of Uíbh Fhailghe (anglicized as Offaly).

Calbhach was known for being an expert at raiding. In his obituary in the Annals of the Four Masters he is called a 'man who never refused the countenance of many, and who had won more wealth from his English and Irish enemies than any lord in Leinster'.

Children

Margaret O'Carrolll had a total of seven children: 5 sons (Conn (d.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Margaret O'Carroll” is irish noble. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Margaret, O'Carroll and Irish, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1451, 1433, 1445, 1458—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Margaret, O'Carroll and Irish is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “irish noble” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6759780. The first chronological checks are 1451, 1433, 1445 and 1458.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Margaret O'Carroll primary sources, Margaret O'Carroll archive and Margaret research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Margaret O'Carroll” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.