Flower, Robin Ernest William (1881–1946), Gaelic scholar, poet and translator, was born 16 October 1881 at Meanwood, Leeds, England, son of Marmaduke Flower, painter, and Jane Flower (née Lynch), both of Irish descent. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School and entered Pembroke College…
Biographies A-Z
Flynn, Patrick J. (‘Pat’)
Flynn, Patrick J. (‘Pat’) (1894–1969), athlete, was born 29 December 1894 at Ballinadee, Bandon, Co. Cork, son of Patrick Flynn, a labourer, and Ellen Flynn (née Murphy). Slightly built – he stood 5 ft. 7 in., and weighed 8 st. 3 lbs – in the early 1910s he enjoyed considerable…
Fogartach
Fogartach (d. 724), son of Niall and king of Tara, belonged to Clann Chernaig Shotail, a lineage of Síl nÁedo Sláine, a constituent dynasty of Uí Néill. His father was a son of the eponymous Cernach Sotal (d. 668); his mother is not named, but four of his brothers or half-brothers…
Fogarty, Christopher P. (‘Robin’)
Fogarty, Christopher P. (‘Robin’) (1928–95), diplomat, was born 3 July 1928 at 23 Kenilworth Park, Rathmines, Dublin, the only son of Christopher Fogarty, civil servant, of Harbour View, Dingle, Co. Kerry, and Margaret Fogarty (née Matthews). He was educated at O'Connell Schools,…
Fogarty, Michael
Fogarty, Michael (1859–1955), catholic bishop of Killaloe, was born 11 October 1859 in Kilcolman near Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. He had one brother, Daniel, who also became a priest. Fogarty was educated at St Flannan's College in Ennis and later Maynooth College, where he was…
Foillan (Fáelán)
Foillan (Fáelán) (d. 655), Irish missionary and martyr associated with East Anglia and Fosses (southern Belgium), was a brother of Fursa (qv) (d. 649/50) and Ultan (Ir. Ultán). The earliest sources indicate that his Irish name was…
Folejambe, Sir Godfrey
Folejambe, Sir Godfrey (d. 1382), knight, chief justice of the justiciar's bench, was (according to Ball) son of Sir Thomas Folejambe of Darley, Derbyshire, England, though he may have been related to Sir Richard Folejambe the elder. He first appears as a commissioner of array in…
Folens, Albert Joseph Marcel
Folens, Albert Joseph Marcel (1916–2003) Flemish nationalist and educational publisher, was born 15 October 1916 in Bissegem, west Flanders (latterly part of the municipality of Kortrijk, formerly Courtrai) to a devoutly catholic Flemish‐speaking family. (Folens recalled saying many…
Foley, Allan James
Foley, Allan James (1835–99), opera singer, was born 7 August 1835 at Cahir, Co. Tipperary; nothing is known of his family background. He was trained as a carpenter, but abandoned this after it was discovered that he had an excellent singing voice. Moving to Naples, he studied under…
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall)
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall) (1815–74), anglican minister and Irish-language scholar, grew up in a poor Irish-speaking family in Tralee, Co. Kerry. He worked for a time in the shop of Patrick Grey in Tralee. Influenced by a local clergyman, he left the Roman Catholic Church and…
Foley, Desmond (‘Des’)
Foley, Desmond (‘Des’) (1940–95), sportsman and politician, was born 12 September 1940 in a nursing home at 12 Seville Place, North Strand, Dublin, youngest among five sons and five daughters of Patrick Foley, a carrier, resident at 21 Blackheath Park, Clontarf, and Elizabeth…
Foley, Donal
Foley, Donal (1922–81), journalist and editor, was born 4 September 1922 in Ring, Co. Waterford, seventh among twelve children of Daniel Joseph Foley, headmaster in Ferrybank, Co. Waterford, and Catherine Foley (née Power). His childhood was idyllic, between the small village of…
Foley, Edward Arlington
This is a co-subject for the entry on Foley, John Henry. View the original entry.
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward (1886–1982), soldier and policeman, was born 10 May 1886 at the rectory, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, son of William Foley, the incumbent, and Josephine Foley (née Clarke). After completing his Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), he joined the…
Foley, John Henry
Foley, John Henry (1818–74), sculptor, was born 24 May 1818 at 6 Montgomery St., Dublin, second son and second among four children of Jesse Foley, glassblower, and Eliza Foley (née Byrne). His father later ran a grocer's shop on Mecklenburg St. His paternal step-grandfather,…
Foley, Lar (Liam)
Foley, Lar (Liam) (1938–2003), Gaelic footballer and hurler, was born William Foley on 28 November 1938 in a nursing home at Seville Place, North Strand, Dublin, second youngest among five sons and five daughters of Patrick Foley, a carrier, resident at 37 Rutland Street, Summerhill,…
Foley, Samuel
Foley, Samuel (1655–95), Church of Ireland bishop, was born 25 November 1655 in Boate St., Clonmel, Tipperary, eldest among at least three sons of Samuel Foley, who had come to Ireland from England as a captain in the forces of …
Foot, Lundy
Foot, Lundy (1735–1805), tobacconist and snuff manufacturer, was born 16 April 1735, eldest surviving son of Jeffrey Foot (d. 1773) and Jane Foot (née Lundy), who died in 1745, aged 32. Her father, James Lundy of Ringsend, Dublin, died in 1750, aged 106. Jeffrey and Jane Foot had…
Foot, Lundy
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Foot, Lundy Edward
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Forannán
Forannán (d. 852), abbot of Armagh, probably belonged to a lineage of Airgialla. Identified as the son of Murgal, he emerged as a rival to Diarmait (qv) grandson of Tigernán, when the latter succeeded…
Forannán (Farannán)
Forannán (Farannán) (d. 982), third (or possibly fourth) abbot of the Irish Benedictine foundation at Waulsort (Belgium), was son of Rónán, son of Fiachu, a descendant of Éogan son of Art. According to his twelfth-century biographer Robert, a monk of Waulsort, he had been bishop of…
Foran, Thomas
Foran, Thomas (1883–1951), trade unionist, was born 26 January 1883 at 24 Golden Lane, Dublin, son of Thomas Foran, labourer, and Johanna Foran (née Prett). Educated locally, he began working at a young age on the quays in Dublin. He took an immediate interest in trade unions, and…
Forbes, Ernest
Forbes, Ernest (1879–1962), cartoonist, landscape artist and portraitist, was born Ernest Forbes Holgate in Leeds on 2 July 1879, second son of Thomas Pullan Holgate, stonemason and sculptor, and Hannah Margaret Holgate (née Forbes). He changed his name by deed poll to Ernest Forbes…
Forbes, George
Forbes, George (1685–1765), 3rd earl of Granard , diplomat, and admiral, was born 21 October 1685, third but eldest surviving son of Arthur Forbes (qv), 2nd earl, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir…