Carol Foley (also Meehan) is a fictional character in the Irish soap opera Fair City, portrayed by Aisling O'Neill.
In 1999 Carol, a recovering alcoholic, arrives in Carrigstown searching for her son Lorcan, whom she gave up for adoption years prior,[3] as she had discovered he was in trouble for breaking into cars and going joyriding in them.
When Carol becomes pregnant, Billy shows a kind side, showering her with gifts and making big plans for their future.
Carol vows vengeance and finds an ally in Leo Dowling to get rid of Billy, who has also caused him great pain.
At the same time, Carol is preparing to leave Ireland with Lorcan, but a bloody Billy, smarting from Leo's onslaught, comes across her flight tickets and attacks her again.
An infuriated Lorcan appears and, having had enough of his stepfather's taunts, hits Billy from behind in the back of his head with a golf club, killing him.
Carol is able to keep Leo under control, but months later in 2002, the Gardaí find Billy's body when a dog digs it up and a passerby notices it.
They soon discover that Carol lied about receiving phone calls from Billy, but the innocent Leo becomes the prime suspect in the murder.
When Carol arrives at the rendezvous point, she is shocked to discover that Pascal is sitting unconscious in a chair and the war veteran spends months in a comatose state in hospital.
Carol helps Garrigan in efforts to reconcile with his daughter, but he ends up losing her again when she learns of his criminal position.
The Ukrainians are furious that Mick goofed up but, realising that Garrigan would have all his goons on their trail, they release Ali and flee the country.
In mid 2006, Lorcan leaves the Irish Army and Carol lets him run her nightclub, but is later furious to discover that he's using it as a front for drug-dealing, fearing that he is going down a similar path to Billy.
[9] When Carol and Ali convince him to do the right thing, Lorcan makes a complete deathbed confession to the Gardaí before he dies in hospital.
Garrigan suspects that Carol has betrayed him and decides to leave Carrigstown for the time being, but Detective Sergeant Byrne arrests him and takes him to a Garda station for questioning.
The wedding does not go according to plan however, as Carol's father Trigger turns up to the ceremony drunk and is determined to ruin his daughter's big day.
As Carol is being driven to the wedding by Wayne Molloy, Trigger suddenly steps out in front of the car and is knocked to the ground.
During their first dance, Carol and Robbie are forced to hide what had happened as the sound of sirens from an approaching ambulance grows louder.
[14] Aisling O'Neill's portrayal of Carol earns her personal letters of admiration and bought her an IFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a Soap or Comedy.
[14] The impressionist Mario Rosenstock regularly spoofs Carol in his Gift Grub series on Today FM.