Biographies A-Z

Dúnchad (d. 728), son of Murchad and overking of Leinster, was a member of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. Although his father Murchad (qv) son of Bran Mút had died as overking of Leinster in 727, the name of Dúnchad's mother is unrecorded. The…

Dúnchad (d. 717), 11th abbot of Iona, was of royal descent, being a direct descendant of some of the Uí Néill high-kings – grandson of Maél Cobo (d. 615) and grandnephew of Domnall (qv) (d. 642). Under his rule (from c.707) Iona, and…

Dundas, Lawrence (1844–1929), 1st marquess of Zetland and earl of Ronaldshay, lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 16 August 1844 in England, eldest son of the Hon. John Charles Dundas, MP for Richmond, Yorkshire (1830–35, 1841–7, 1865–6), and his wife Margaret, daughter of James…

Dundee, John Wharry (1921–91), anaesthetist, was born 8 November 1921 at Ballynure, Larne, Co. Antrim, the son of William Wharry Dundee, farmer, and Tillie Dundee (née McRoberts). Educated locally at Ballyclare High School, he later entered Queen's University, Belfast (1939),…

Dundon, John (1870–1952), MD, professor of materia medica, and UCC professor of surgery, was born 11 June 1870 at Araglin Mills, Fermoy, Co. Cork, youngest of six children (five sons and one daughter) of Edmond (Ned) Dundon,…

Dúngal (d. p. 830), formerly thought to have been a composite figure of two or even three separate personalities associated with Saint-Denis, Pavia and Bobbio, was an Irish scholar-poet in the service of a succession of Carolingian monarchs. He is first mentioned in a…

Dungan (Dongan), Thomas (1590?–1663), lawyer and judge, was fourth son of John Dungan of Castletown, Co. Kildare, second remembrancer of the exchequer and an important figure in the Irish administration, and his wife Margaret, daughter of Walter Forster. Thomas's parents died…

Dunican, Laurence Kieran (‘L. Kieran’) (1935–98), microbiologist, was born 29 January 1935 at 92 Marlborough Road, Donnybrook, Dublin, eldest among three sons and two daughters of James Joseph Dunican, teacher and dairy farmer of Horseleap, Co. Westmeath, and Mary Lucy Dunican (…

Dunk, George Montagu (1716–71), 2nd earl of Halifax , lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 5/6 October 1716, the son of George Montagu (d. 1739), 1st earl of Halifax, whose seat was at Horton, Northamptonshire, and his wife, Lady Mary Lumley (1690–1726), daughter of the 1st earl…

Dunkin, William (1707?–65), poet and schoolmaster, was born in Dublin, son of Patrick Dunkin (d. 1719?), gentleman, who may have been briefly curate of Dromiskin, Co. Louth, before his early death. William's mother apparently also died young, but nothing else is known of her. In 1720…

Dúnlaing (d. 1014), son of Tuathal and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Muiredaig. Tuathal (qv) having died as overking (958), Dúnlaing and his brother Augaire strove to maintain the status of their dynasty in the face of…

Dúnlaing (d. 869), son of Muiredach and overking of Leinster, belonged to the Uí Muiredaig lineage of Uí Dúnlainge. His father, Muiredach son of Bran Ardchenn (qv), who had been appointed joint puppet king of Leinster (804) by the king…

Dúnlaing (5th cent.?), son of Énnae Nia and Leinster dynast and ancestor figure, features prominently in the historical and genealogical tradition of the Laigin. He is represented as a grandson of Bressal Bélach, ancestor of the Leinster kings, and as a brother of Brión Lethderg…

Dunlap, John (1746/7–1812), printer, was born in what is now Meetinghouse Street, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, a younger son among probably three sons and four daughters of John Dunlap, saddler, and Sarah Dunlap (née Ector). He may have been apprenticed to learn the printing trade in Gray's of…

Dunlevy, Mairéad (1941–2008), museum curator and expert on Irish costume and decorative arts, was born Margaret M. Dunlevy on 31 December 1941, eldest of three children (two boys and a girl) of James Dunlevy, a grocer and general merchant in Mountcharles, Co. Donegal, and his wife Pearl…

Dunlevy, Margaret ('Pearl') (1909–2002), physician and epidemiologist, was born Bridget Margaret Mary Dunlevy on 13 August 1909 at Mountcharles, Co. Donegal, the fifth of six children (four boys and two girls) of George Dunlevy, shopkeeper and merchant, and Maggie Dunlevy (née Doherty…

Dunlop, Daniel Nicol (1868–1935), businessman and esotericist, was born 28 December 1868 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, only child of Alexander Dunlop, described variously as an architect or builder, and Catherine Dunlop (née Nicol) (1847–73). His father, a stern authoritarian, was…

Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton (1844–1930), sports promoter, civil servant and engineer, was born in February 1844 in Bombay (Mumbai), India, the only son of (William) Henry Glasgow Dunlop (d. 1869), deputy superintendent of the Bombay Water Police, and his wife Mary Anne (née Pilkington…

Dunlop, John Boyd (1840–1921), inventor, was prematurely born, 5 February 1840, on a farm near Dreghorn, Ayrshire, Scotland, son of John Dunlop and Agnes Dunlop (née Boyd). He was considered a delicate child, and instead of farmwork was allowed to continue studies at Irvine Academy…

Dunlop, (John) Boyd (1913–2005), orthopaedic surgeon, was born in Dublin on 31 July 1913, only son of John (Johnny) Boyd Dunlop and his wife Constance Mary (née Moore), who also had a daughter. Both families were presbyterian. His father was a director of a drapery company, Todd Burns,…

Dunlop, Mary Edith (1912–2003), campaigner for the welfare of the blind, was born 25 November 1912 at 33 South Mall, Cork city, youngest child and only daughter among three surviving children (a fourth child died young) of Nathaniel Henry ‘Ted’ Hobart (b. 1867), general medical…

Dunlop, Robert (1960–2008), motorcycle racer, was born 25 November 1960, fourth child among three sons and four daughters (including his twin sister Margaret) of William Dunlop, a motor mechanic, and his wife May (née Barkley), of Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, where Robert attended school.…

Dunlop, Robert Frederick (1938–2014), baptist minister and writer, was born on 19 June 1938 at the family farm in the townland of Errigal Truagh, near Emyvale, Co. Monaghan, the eldest of at least two boys and two girls born to Henry Dunlop, and his wife Jean (Jeanne) Lyster Dunlop (née…

Dunlop, Ronald Ossory ('R. O.', 'ROD') (1894–1973), artist, was born 28 June 1894 at 71 Lower Drumcondra Road, Dublin, second of three children and only son of Daniel Nicol Dunlop (qv), a Scottish-born clerk and theosophist, and Eleanor…

Dunlop, William (1768–1821), United Irishman and presbyterian moderator, was born at Maine, near Limavady, Co. Londonderry. Educated at Glasgow University, he graduated MA in 1787. Licensed to preach in 1788, he was ordained in 1789, and for…