[1] Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children).

At 10 days old, he was adopted by his maternal aunt, Kathleen, and her husband, James Carr, who were childless and had recently returned home from India.

After several years of playing against the United States' top-ranked players, he was moved down in the order for the 1961 event—only to be paired against Jack Nicklaus (who won the match).

[3] Carr played and captained on multiple Eisenhower Trophy teams, and represented Ireland in the Men's Home Internationals every year from 1947 to 1969.

Two months before Carr's death, his son John became the third Irishman to be invited to join Augusta National Golf Club, after his father and Ian Webb.