Maria-Alice de Marsillac Plunkett

Maria Alice de Marsillac Plunkett, Lady Dunsany (; 27 January 1942 – 9 April 2020) was a Brazilian-Irish architect, designer and châtelaine of Dunsany Castle, one of Ireland's longest-occupied homes. was born on 27 January 1942 in Rio de Janeiro to Scipião de Carvalho (died ), a colonel in the Brazilian army and later architect, and Arminda Bandeira de Villela, who claimed descent from Pedro Álvares Cabral and Vasco da Gama. Graduating with distinction, De Carvalho also won first prize in an architectural competition adjudicated by Oscar Niemeyer.

In the early 1980s, De Marsillac relocated to New York where she founded an architecture firm. One notable commission was a refurbishment of Sotheby's New York headquarters.

After some years, the family moved in stages to Dunsany Castle in County Meath, being fully settled in Ireland by 1997. De Marsillac Plunkett qualified as an architect in Ireland.

Châtelaine In 1999, Edward Plunkett inherited both the Barony of Dunsany and Dunsany Castle and its estate. Upon becoming Lady Dunsany and the châtelaine of Dunsany Castle, De Marsillac Plunkett worked to renovate the castle's interior, and launched a programme of renovation of houses on the estate, as well as planning to convert the former gardener's cottage for museum and cafe purposes. She also launched the Dunsany Home Collection, a housewares boutique in the castle.

Having cared for her husband at home through a long neurological illness, De Marsillac Plunkett continued at Dunsany after his death in 2011. Some time after, the De Marsillacs divorced and Maria Alice married Plunkett, with whom she had two children, including the filmmaker and environmentalist Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany. The families remained close, the four children brought up together.

On 9 April 2020, de Marsillac Plunkett died in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan from COVID-19, aged 78. Due to COVID-related restrictions, the funeral was attended only by her son Randal and the officiating Catholic priest. She is buried by the Church of St. Nicholas, on the grounds of Dunsany Castle, beside her husband.