Biographies A-Z

Findlater, Sir William (1824–1906), solicitor and MP, was born 1 January 1824, the only son of William Findlater, of Londonderry, and his wife Sophia (née Huffington) of Fahan, Co. Donegal. His father, who had been born in Scotland, died in 1831. With his three sisters, he spent…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Findlater, John. View the original entry.

Find (Mod. Ir. Fionn; Arch. Ir. Vind; Celt. Vindos) son of Cumall, hero figure and central character of the Fianaigecht cycle, was almost certainly a euhemerised deity. A continental background for a deity of this name is well attested; he is commemorated in placenames such as…

Finerty, John Frederick (1846–1908), journalist and nationalist, was born 10 September 1846 in Galway city, son of M. J. Finerty, nationalist and editor of the Galway Vindicator, and Margaret Finerty (née Flynn). After his father's death (1848) he was reared by an uncle. He…

Fíngen (d. 1004/5), abbot of the monasteries of Saint-Félix/ Saint-Clément and St Symphorien in Metz and finally of St Vannes in Verdun, was a reformer and restorer of the monasteries of Metz who became a personal friend of Adalbero II, bishop of Metz 984–1005. He succeeded…

Finglas, Patrick (d. 1537), judge and advocate of political reform, was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 29 December 1503, where he acted as Christmas steward in 1506. In 1509 he was a king's sergeant and was described as being of Piercetown, Co. Meath. He was appointed second…

Finlay, Francis Dalzell (1793–1857), journalist and printer, was born 12 July 1793 at Newtownards, Co. Down, son of John Finlay, tenant farmer. He joined the Belfast Monthly Magazine (1812–14) as a printer, and when it closed he set up his own printing press at Joy's Entry…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Finlay, Thomas Aloysius. View the original entry.

Finlay, Thomas Aloysius (1848–1940) and Peter (1851–1929), Jesuit priests, scholars, and teachers, were born at Lanesborough, Co. Roscommon, sons of William Finlay, engineer, and Maria Finlay (née Magan), who had four other children: three daughters, all of whom…

Finley, Samuel (1715–66), presbyterian minister in America and principal of Princeton, was one of seven pious brothers born in Co. Armagh. Some genealogies state that his parents were Michael Finley and Ann Finley (née O'Neill) of Mullaghbrack, Co. Armagh, and that he was born 2…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Finn, Edmund. View the original entry.

Finn, Edmund (d. 1777), printer, publisher, and bookseller, is known to have been at work in Cork in 1766, but from 1767 he worked at Kilkenny, at St Mary's Churchyard (1767) and then at High Street (1767–77), where he founded, edited, printed, and published an influential twice…

Finnerty, Peter (1766?–1822), printer, journalist and parliamentary and war reporter, was born probably at Loughrea, Co. Galway, where his father was a small tradesman. In the 1790s he served as an apprentice to William Corbet (qv),…

Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr) , abbot, bishop, reputed founder of the monastery of Cluain Iraird (Clonard, near Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath), and saint in the Irish tradition, was most likely a localisation of the Ulster saint, …

Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr) (d. 579), abbot and bishop of the monastery of Mag Bile (Movilla, near Newtownards, Co. Down) was a saint in the Irish tradition who seems to have later acquired a number of separate identities, his most notable localisations being as…

Finn (O'Finn), Edmund (Edward) (1767–1811), United Irishman and soldier in the French army, was born in Co. Cork, one of at least two sons of a respectable small farmer and provision merchant; no further details are known of his parents. Information on him is scattered and at times…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Finn, Edmund. View the original entry.

This is a co-subject for the entry on Finn, Edmund. View the original entry.

Fínshnechtae Cetharderc (d. 808), son of Cellach and overking of Leinster, belonged to the Uí Dúnchada lineage of Uí Dúnlainge. His sobriquet, meaning ‘looking four ways’, may be intended to convey a circumspect character; he certainly proved to be a political survivor and did much…

Fínshnechtae Fledach (d. 695), son of Dúnchad and king of Tara, belonged to the Uí Néill dynasty of Síl nÁedo Sláine. Fínshnechtae was a strong king who defended the midlands against threats from Leinster and from the north. The Old Irish regnal poem ‘Baile Chuinn’ (the ‘ecstasy’ or…

Fintan (d. 878), Irish peregrinus and hermit in Rheinau, was (according to his Life) born as a ciues provintiae Laginensis (a freeman of the province of Leinster) and was the son of a soldier in the army of a Leinster king. He was captured and enslaved by the…

Fintan (d. 603) of the moccu Echach, one of the founders of Irish monasticism and abbot-founder of the monastery of Clonenagh (near Mountrath, Co. Laois), is said to have belonged to the Fothairt of Leinster, a branch of the Laigin. Some sources name his father and his mother…

Fintan (d. late 5th cent.), founder and patron of the church of Druim Ing (Dromin, Ardee, Co. Louth), was (according to the later medieval genealogies) son of Éogan son of Cathán of the Cianachta Breg; his mother was Ném of the Luigni. Despite the occurrence of his name in many…

Fintan (Munnu) of the moccu Moíe (d. 637), abbot of Tech Munnu (Taghmon, Co. Wexford) and defender of the Celtic Easter, was son of Tailchán or Tulchán, a member of the Cenél Conaill branch of the Northern Uí Néill. His father was a descendant of Fiachra Róede, whose descendants the…

Finucane, Brendan Eamonn (‘Paddy’) (1920–42), airman, was born 16 October 1920 at 13 Rathmines Road, Dublin, eldest among three sons and two daughters of Thomas Andrew Finucane, businessman, and Florence Louise Finucane (née Robinson) of Leicester, England. He was educated in…