Irish politician and historian who first made his name as a novelist with such successes as Dear Lady Disdain (1875) and Miss Misanthrope (1878) but then published his History of Our Own Times (1879–1905), which won general recognition.

M'Carthy began his career as a journalist, but in 1879 he entered Irish politics and became vice chairman of the new Home Rule Party under Charles Stuart Parnell. In a crisis over the leadership, M'Carthy became chairman of the anti-Parnellites. In the 1892 general election his party won an overwhelming success, but he had no great political ambitions and in 1896 resigned the leadership to John Dillon. Although his health broke down and he became nearly blind, he continued writing by dictation.