Biographies A-Z

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Gaffikin, Thomas

Gaffikin, Thomas (1809–93), linen merchant, town councillor, and lecturer, was born in Belfast, third son of Arthur Gaffikin (1772–1825), butcher, and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart (1770–1838). The Gaffikins came to Belfast c.1750 and farmed land around Sandy Row. Arthur…

Gaffney, Gertrude (‘Gertie’,‘Conor Galway’)

Gaffney, Gertrude (‘Gertie’,‘Conor Galway’) (d. 1959), journalist, was born in Middletown, Co. Armagh, and educated at St Louis convent, Carrickmacross. Under the pen name ‘Conor Galway’ she published several stories and one novel, Workers towards the dawn (1919). She was…

Gaffney, Henry Michael

Gaffney, Henry Michael (1895–1974), Dominican priest and writer, was born 31 May 1895 in Cuffe's Grange, Co. Kilkenny, the son of Michael Gaffney, publican, and Bridget Gaffney (née Kenna). He entered the Dominican order in Tallaght, Co. Dublin, on 14 September 1915 and was…

Gaffney, Honoria (Mother Mary Evangelista)

Gaffney, Honoria (Mother Mary Evangelista) (1853–1920), missionary nun, was born 1 May 1853 in the parish of Kilronan, Keadue, Co. Roscommon, the seventh of ten children of Patrick Gaffney, cobbler and smallholder, and his wife Mary (née Quinn). Gaffney's parents farmed eleven acres…

Gageby, (Robert John) Douglas

Gageby, (Robert John) Douglas (1918–2004), newspaper editor, was born 29 September 1918 in Ranelagh, Dublin, only son of Thomas Robert Gageby, civil servant, and his wife Ethel (née Smith), a former national school teacher; an elder sister died of meningitis aged five in 1921. Gageby's…

Gahagan, Usher

Gahagan, Usher (d. 1749), classical scholar and criminal, was perhaps from Co. Westmeath and may have been educated at TCD, though he did not take a degree. He converted to catholicism, much to the consternation of his family, who…

Gahan, William

Gahan, William (1732–1804), Augustinian friar and author, was born 5 June 1732 in Dublin, son of Denis Gahan and Mary Gahan (née Warren). Received into the Augustinian order in 1748, he studied at Louvain, where he was ordained (1755) and secured a doctorate in theology. Returning…

Gahan, (Winifred) Muriel Françoise

Gahan, (Winifred) Muriel Françoise (1897–1995), promoter of cooperation and traditional crafts, was born 27 October 1897 at Magherabeg House, near Donegal town, the second daughter of (Fredrick George) Townsend Gahan, a civil engineer with the Congested Districts Board, and…

Gailey, Robert Alan

Gailey, Robert Alan (1935–2013), folklife scholar and museum director, was born on 4 October 1935 in Galway. Known by his middle name, Alan was the second child of Andrew J. Gailey (d. 1963), a presbyterian minister in Galway, and Mary Gailey (née Porter). He had two sisters. From…

Gaine, Hugh

Gaine, Hugh (1726–1807), printer and newspaper editor in New York, was born in Portglenone, Co. Antrim, the son of Hugh Gaine, possibly a merchant. There was at least one other son, who also emigrated. The family was Church of Ireland, although in a 1766 religious census family…

Gaj, Margaret (née Dunlop)

Gaj, Margaret (née Dunlop) (1919–2011), restaurateur, radical, and political activist, was born on 28 January 1919 in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of four children (two girls and two boys) of James Aloysius Dunlop and his wife Ellen (née O'Malley). Both parents were catholics of Irish…

Galbraith, Joseph Allen

Galbraith, Joseph Allen (1818–90), professor of experimental philosophy and proponent of home rule, was born November 1818 in Dublin, the son of Richard Galbraith, a merchant and Scottish presbyterian, and his wife Rebecca. His father died in the 1820s, after which he largely…

Gallacher (Gallagher), Patrick (‘Patsy’)

Gallacher (Gallagher), Patrick (‘Patsy’) (1891–1953), footballer, was born 16 March 1891 at Milford workhouse, Co. Donegal, one of four boys and three girls of William Gallagher, a post car driver from Ramelton, and his wife Margaret (née Gallagher). When Patsy was three years old…

Gallagher, Andrew

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gallagher, Redmond. View the original entry.

Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie')

Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie') (1924–2012), singer, was born on 7 September 1924 near Creeslough, Co. Donegal, to Jim Gallagher and his wife Biddy (née Sweeney). Bridie (as she was always known) had three older brothers, five older sisters and one younger sister; the family…

Gallagher, Charles

Gallagher, Charles (1927–93), businessman, was born 20 January 1927 at Cashel, Curry parish, Co. Sligo, the second youngest of fourteen children of Matthew Gallagher, farmer, of Cashel, and his wife Margaret (née Reilly). Growing up on a small family farm, he attended Moylough…

Gallagher, Denis (Ó Gallchóir, Donncha)

Gallagher, Denis (Ó Gallchóir, Donncha) (1922–2001), government minister and community activist, was born 29 December 1922 in Currane, within the parish, though not the island, of Achill, Co. Mayo, the son of John Gallagher, merchant, of Currane, and his wife Catherine (née Gallagher).…

Gallagher, Eamonn

Gallagher, Eamonn (1926–2009), diplomat and administrator, was born 13 July 1926 in Curley Street, Whiteinch, Glasgow, one of ten children of Edward Gallagher, from Glenswilly, Co. Donegal, and his wife Anne (née Hayes), from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. Working first as a dock labourer…

Gallagher, Edward

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gallagher, Redmond. View the original entry.

Gallagher, Eileen Helen Mary

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gallagher, Redmond. View the original entry.

Gallagher, Frank

Gallagher, Frank (1893–1962), journalist, author, and republican, was born 22 February 1893 in Cork, one of a family of four brothers and five sisters of James Gallagher, an accountant, and his wife Kathleen Gallagher (née Whitely). Educated at Presentation College, Cork, he…

Gallagher, Henry Thomas (Harry)

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gallagher, Redmond. View the original entry.

Gallagher, Hugh Patrick

Gallagher, Hugh Patrick (1815–82), educator and priest in the USA, was born 26 March 1815 at Killygordon, Co. Donegal, eldest of at least two sons of a Roman Catholic farmer; nothing else is known of his family. Educated locally, he studied theology and philosophy and in 1837…

Gallagher, James

Gallagher, James (1920–83), businessman and politician, was born in Cashel, Curry parish, Co. Sligo, on 12 April 1920, the ninth child (of fourteen) of Matthew Gallagher, small farmer of Cashel, and his wife Margaret (née Reilly). Too sickly to partake in farm work, after attending…

Gallagher, James (Ó Gallchobhair, Séamus)

Gallagher, James (Ó Gallchobhair, Séamus) (c.1684–1751), catholic bishop and author of published sermons in Irish, was born in the diocese of Kilmore; nothing is known of his parents. He was most likely ordained in Ireland around 1709 before being sent to the Continent to…