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Lady Annette Carson [12] , born Sarah Annette Kirwan in County Galway, was the first wife of Irish Unionist politician and barrister Sir Edward Carson.  They had met in Galway when Carson was in his early twenties and had seen Annette standing on the shore when he was out boating; within six months they had married, despite Carson having only recently been called to the Bar and the couple having little money. 

The Carsons later settled in England with a central London residence and a seaside home at Northgate House in Rottingdean (originally sited in Northgate Close [view], since demolished in the 1970s); it is possible that, as her husband's fame increased, Annette retreated from London society to the quiet of village life, where she became part of the local community. 

Sir Edward Carson was counsel representing the Marquess of Queensberry in the criminal libel action brought by Oscar Wilde,  which led directly to Wilde's prosecution and conviction. He also appeared in the Archer-Shee case, on which Terence Rattigan's play "The Winslow Boy" is based. As a politician, Carson became Solicitor General of both Ireland and England, and he was also a member of the House of Lords. 

The year after Lady Annette's death in Rottingdean following a prolonged illness, Carson married his second wife, Ruby, who at 29 years of age was thirty-one years younger than him.  After his death in October 1935, Edward Carson had a State funeral at Belfast Cathedral, and his tomb and statue outside the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont are considered by many to symbolise his significance in the creation of Northern Ireland.  Ruby died in 1966.

_{Sarah Annette Foster Kirwan}

_{Lady Carson's funeral}