This is a list of characters in the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly series.
Ross's family
Ross
Ross Kyle Gibson McBride O'Carroll-Kelly is the protagonist and narrator. His initials, given to him by Sunday Tribune journalist Gerard Siggins, are ROCK. This is a double reference - Ross attends the fictional school Castlerock College (a portmanteau of Castleknock College and Blackrock College.)
Ross is the only son of Charles and Fionnuala O'Carroll-Kelly. His middle names are from the famous Irish rugby players Jack Kyle, Mike Gibson and Willie John McBride — his father always hoped that Ross would be a great rugby player. His parents weren't as well off when Ross was young, living in the relatively poor suburb of Sallynoggin. When Charles's business began to succeed, they moved to wealthy Foxrock (which threatened to be renamed Sandyford West in the play Between Foxrock and a Hard Place). Ross was bullied in school, but after becoming a rugby player was one of the most popular at Castlerock College.
As a young man, Ross is vain and a heartless womaniser. Though Ross performed well in schools rugby, his natural laziness meant that he never progressed in the game as an adult. Ross has an intense hatred for "skangers" or "skobies" (as he refers to a particular group of people in Dublin, the majority of whom reside north of the River Liffey) and "boggers" or "culchies" (as he refers to people from outside the Dublin area). His marriage to Sorcha did little to hinder his prolific womanising. Once he has had his way with a girl, he rarely replies to her calls or messages, unless he needs to use her for some ulterior purpose.
Charles
Charles O'Carroll-Kelly is Ross's father. Ross treats him with contempt, often while obtaining large amounts of money from him. Charles is very proud of his son's rugby skills and demands the utmost respect for him from sports columnists. Ross's nicknames for him, possibly suggested by his initials (C.O.C.K.), include "Dick-features" and "Knob-head".
Mr O'Carroll-Kelly is portrayed as an extreme right winger, with little respect for trade unions, the poor, environmentalism or and state intervention in the economy. He was elected as a local councillor for Dún Laoghaire in the 2004 local elections, but two years later was imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail for corruption (following revelations about the "fictional" events depicted in his wife's novel Criminal Assets), where he then manages to turn the prisoners into a rugby team. Charles has an inflated sense of self-importance, repeatedly writing to the Irish Times on various issues, convinced that people think of him as a "major captain of industry" and man with his "finger on the pulse of the nation". Like Ross, he has an intense hatred of North Dubliners. When he found out that Ronan was born, he bribed Ronan's mother, Tina not to let Ross know about the boy. However, prior to a letter from Fr. Fehily, Charles first speaks to Ronan at Fionnuala's book party. They have since developed a close bond.
During the time the senior O'Carroll-Kelly spends in prison, Ross's contempt for him diminishes somewhat. This corresponds with his father's inability to provide him with seemingly endless resources of finance and Charles's new-found respect for the less fortunate. In essence, this is the first period in their relationship when Ross is unable to prevail upon his father for his every desire to be satisfied. It appears that Ross's respect for his father grows as a result of this.
In Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra's Box, Charles reveals to Ross that he (Charles) is Erika's real father, and that Fionnuala revealed his crimes to get back at him for this. The final pages of The Oh My God Delusion reveal that Charles suffered a heart attack, while on holiday.
Charles' new found vigor for life after the heart attack lead him to rekindle his relationship with Erika's mother and leave Fionnuala. The two open a cheesemongers and all is calm in his life until the introduction of a wig he found while moving leads to a massive personality change. Charles then has an affair with Fionnuala, his original wife who he then returns to and turns to public office once more, starting a new right-wing political party 'New Ireland' where he vows to dismantle the current Government and 'Make Ireland Great Again'.