The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1597, after which controversy over the original naming of Falstaff (he was originally the historic Sir John Oldcastle, which presumably did not please Oldcastle's descendants) forced Shakespeare to rename the character. It appears that the joke in V,v,85–90 is that Oldcastle/Falstaff incriminates himself by calling out the first letter of his name, "O, O, O!," when his fingertips are singed with candles—which of course works for "Oldcastle" but not "Falstaff." There is also the "castle" reference in IV,v,6. 18 January 1602 was the date the play was entered into the Register of the Stationers Company. The first quarto was
Sir John McMahon, 1st Baronet family: his half-brother William MacMahon obtained the coveted judicial office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland through John's influence, although in the event he proved to be a popular and respected judge. He had no children but his title passed by special remainder to his brother Thomas. He is a minor character in Georgette Heyer's novel "Regency Buck", which shows him in a rather unflattering light. Sir John McMahon, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir John McMahon, 1st Baronet (c. 1754 – 12 September 1817) was an Irish-born politician and Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1811–1817. He was born in Limerick,