The Dictionary of Irish Biography (DIB) is Ireland's national biographical dictionary. One of the flagship research programmes based at the Royal Irish Academy, the DIB tells the island’s life story through the biographies of men and women born in Ireland, north and south, who came to prominence either at home or overseas, and the noteworthy Irish careers of those born outside Ireland. Featuring comprehensive, scholarly biographies encompassing every sphere of human activity, the DIB is an indispensable work of reference for scholars, students, journalists, broadcasters, genealogists, diplomats and the general reader interested in Ireland’s past, or in the art of biography and life writing.
…the RIA’s Dictionary of Irish Biography is an epoch-making event in the history of Irish scholarship. It changes the state of knowledge in the twenty-first century as decidedly as the Ordnance Survey did in the nineteenth… – Seamus Heaney
The chronological scope of the DIB extends from the earliest times to the twenty-first century. The living are not included. Biographies range in length from 200 to 15,000 words, covering diverse figures across a broad range of human activity from, scientists to sportspeople, suffragists to soldiers.
Launched in 2009 after many years of research by hundreds of contributors, the DIB originally contained just over 9,000 entries. Its online edition now features nearly 11,000 lives and continues to grow. New entries are published twice annually, featuring important figures who have died in recent times, and ‘missing persons’: previously overlooked figures deserving fresh interest. The DIB reached an important milestone on St Patrick’s Day 2021, when its online edition (previously hosted by Cambridge University Press as a subscription service) became freely available to all users.
As well as its online database, the DIB is available in print, with eleven volumes published by Cambridge University Press to date. It has also published several themed books which curate DIB entries to give a deeper insight into the lives of the men and women involved in major Irish historical events, movements and migrations.
EDITORIAL TEAM
- Dr Eoin Kinsella (Managing Editor)
- Terry Clavin
- Dr Niav Gallagher
- Dr Patrick Maume
- Turlough O'Riordan
Governance
The DIB project is overseen by an advisory board of the following members:
- Prof Patrick Geoghegan (TCD) (chair)
- Dr Ciara Breathnach (UL)
- Prof Margaret Kelleher (UCD)
- Dr David McCullagh
- Peter MacDonagh
- Prof James McGuire MRIA
- Dr William Murphy (DCU)
- Dr Margaret O’Callaghan (QUB)
- Dr Mervyn O’Driscoll (UCC)
- Dr Siobhán O'Sullivan (Executive Director, RIA)
- Sir Bruce Robinson
- Prof Harry White MRIA (UCD)
The DIB’s managing editor reports to the executive director of the Royal Irish Academy.
Funding
The Dictionary of Irish Biography project is funded by the Higher Education Authority. This website was built and is maintained with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Dublin City Libraries.
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